Child Maltreatment and Youth Exposure to Risky Environments: Latent Class Analysis of Youth Activity Spaces

Background: Childhood maltreatment is a serious social problem that can negative impact positive youth development. Child maltreatment may alter the way that adolescents engage in and interact within the places they visit in their daily routines, namely youth activity spaces. Given that the span and importance of social-environmental and spatial exposure increase substantially during adolescence, it is vital to examine the impact of child maltreatment on adolescents’ environmental and contextual risks (e.g., exposure to risky settings) within their activity spaces, beyond internal/individual-level outcomes (e.g., psychological symptoms). Thus, the current study sought to explore the associations between child maltreatment and patterns of risk exposures within youth activity spaces among adolescents.

Methods: We used data from the Adolescent Health and Development in Context (AHDC) study and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS). The AHDC study, conducted in a Midwest state collected data on 1,405 youths between the ages of 11 and 17. SACWIS is a case management information system used by state and local government to prevent and respond to reports of child maltreatment. We linked data from the AHDC study and the SACWIS. Contextual risk factors within youth activity spaces were measured using the smart phone based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) survey that included 8 items asking risk behaviors happening at the moment (e.g., yelling, physical fights, stealing, smoking). Child maltreatment was assessed by aggregating the cumulative number of reports made to child protective services from birth to age 17. Covariates included youths' gender, age, and race/ethnicity, household income, and physical aggression and psychological aggression. A three-step latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to analyze the data.

Results: LCA revealed three contextual risk exposure classes. The aggression/violence class (7.7%) was characterized by higher probabilities of exposure to physically or psychologically violent behaviors. The smoking and drinking class (12.3%) was characterized by higher probabilities of exposure to substance use, including alcohol or tobacco use. Lastly, the majority of youth (80.0%) belonged to the non-risk class in which youth showed extremely low risk probabilities of exposure to risky environments across all indicators. Adolescents with more maltreatment reports were more likely to be in the aggression/violence class compared to the non-risk class (Odds ratio= 1.146). Higher levels of psychological aggression (Odds ratio= 1.292) were associated with a greater likelihood of membership in the smoking and drinking class than the non-risk class.

Conclusion: Capitalizing on the novel linkage between administrative child welfare records and EMA-based youth spatial/environmental exposure data, we found a positive connection between child maltreatment and contextual risk exposure during adolescence. Considering the link between the number of maltreatment reports made to child protective services and membership in the aggression/violence class, intervention efforts should target youths with a history of child maltreatment, ensuring that they have access to safe, structured, and non-violent environments during their daily routines. Our findings also support the need for more investment in maltreatment prevention and positive parenting education, with a particular focus on helping parents recognize the detrimental effects of psychological abuse on youth development.