Emotional neglect, parent-child interaction and language development in children of parents with an emergency visit due to psychosocial problems

Background: In 2010 a new policy concerning child maltreatment was introduced in hospitals in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This policy requires that children whose parents visit an emergency department because of intimate... [ view full abstract ]

Background: In 2010 a new policy concerning child maltreatment was introduced in hospitals in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This policy requires that children whose parents visit an emergency department because of intimate partner violence, substance abuse or a suicide attempt (psychosocial problems) are screened for child maltreatment. Because this policy is relatively new, consequences for young children growing up in these families are unclear. We hypothesize that emotional neglect is common in these families. Emotional neglect is difficult to identify, but can have serious consequences for young children, including language delay, disturbed parent-child interaction, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and behaviour problems.
Objectives: We aim to compare young children of families with and without an emergency visit due to parental psychosocial problems on language development, PTSS, behaviour problems and parent-child interaction. Furthermore, we aim to explore leads for the identification of emotional neglect.
Method: Thirty-five children aged 2-7, whose parents visited a hospital in Amsterdam because of psychosocial problems were included (Cases). Cases were compared to a community sample of 36 children with similar backgrounds (Controls). We used the following measures: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Index (PPVT) for language development; CRIES for PTSS; CBCL for behaviour problems. Parent-child interaction was measured by coding parent-child play situations with 2 coding schemes (DPICS/EAS).
Results: Preliminary results showed that cases scored significantly higher on PTSS and behaviour problems than controls, with respectively large (MD=11.4, 95%CI [7.7, 15.0], d=1.46) and medium (MD=6.9, 95%CI [1.9, 12.0], d=0.66) effect sizes. Cases scored on average 8.9% worse on the language test than controls, effect size was medium (MD=-9.3, 95%CI [-17.3, -1.2], d=-0.54). Results of the parent-child interaction are forthcoming.
Conclusions: Children of parents with an emergency visit due to psychosocial problems show more behaviour problems and PTSS and score lower on language development, which may be associated with emotional neglect.