Exploring Gender Differences on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Among Maltreated Youth: Implications for Social
- PDF / 256,664 Bytes
- 17 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 25 Downloads / 181 Views
Exploring Gender Differences on Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Among Maltreated Youth: Implications for Social Work Action Tina Maschi Æ Keith Morgen Æ Carolyn Bradley Æ Schnavia Smith Hatcher
Published online: 28 August 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008
Abstract This purpose of this study was to explore the moderating influence of gender on the relationship between child maltreatment and internalizing symptoms (e.g., affective and somatic problems) and externalizing behavior (e.g., rule breaking behavior and aggression) among children aged 7–12 years old. Using a longitudinal comparison group design and a sample of 300 youth of which 56% (n = 168) had substantiated cases of child maltreatment, results of a structural equation modeling revealed that internalizing symptoms exerted a mediating influence that was conditioned by gender. Only girls’ internalizing symptoms were found to mediate the link between child maltreatment and externalizing behavior while a direct relationship between maltreatment and externalizing behavior was found among boys. These findings provide evidence for gender differences in the pathways between being child maltreatment and maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Thus, adapting evidence-based strategies that target gender specific
T. Maschi (&) Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, USA e-mail: [email protected] K. Morgen Department of Behavioral and Historical Studies, Centenary College, 400 Jefferson Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840, USA e-mail: [email protected] C. Bradley School of Social Work, Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 08904, USA e-mail: [email protected] S. S. Hatcher School of Social Work, University of Georgia, 302 Tucker Hall, Athens, GA 30602, USA e-mail: [email protected]
123
532
T. Maschi et al.
internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors among maltreated youth may significantly reduce the risk of short and long-term maladaptive behavior. Keywords Child welfare Child maltreatment Children and adolescents Internalizing behavior Externalizing behavior Child behavior checklist Moderation analysis Longitudinal analysis Structural equation modeling
Introduction Child maltreatment remains an ongoing social problem impacting boys and girls, especially in early childhood. In 2005, of the estimated 899,000 youth that received substantiated reports of child maltreatment, the majority (62.8%) of these reports were for neglect, followed by physical abuse (16.6%), sexual abuse (9.3%), psychological maltreatment (7.1%), and medical neglect (2.0%) (USDHHS 2007). Young children (i.e., ages 1–11) compared to older children (i.e., ages 12–18) were more likely to come to the attention of child welfare services for abuse and neglect. While approximately equal numbers of girls (51.7%) and boys (48.3%) receive substantiated reports of child maltreatment, girls were more likely to have been victims of sexual abuse while boys were mo
Data Loading...
