Toxic neighborhoods and violence behind closed doors: Do child maltreatment and intimate partner violence spatially overlap?

ObjectivesThis paper aims to respond to two research questions: (1) Is the risk of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence higher in the same neighborhoods (2) Do the same neighborhood share the same risk factors... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives

This paper aims to respond to two research questions: (1) Is the risk of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence higher in the same neighborhoods (2) Do the same neighborhood share the same risk factors explaining higher risk of child maltreatment and intimate partner violence?

Method:

We used geocoded data from substantiated child maltreatment referrals (N= 254) and intimate partner violence incidents (N= 1450) in the city of Valencia (Spain). As the neighborhood proxy, we used 552 census block groups. Neighborhood characteristics analyzed at the aggregated level (census block groups) were: Neighborhood concentrated disadvantage (neighborhood economic status, neighborhood education status, and public disorder and crime), immigration concentration, and residential instability. To study the geographical distribution and the overlap of child maltreatment referrals and cases of intimate partner violence a Bayesian joint modeling approach was used. To analyze the influence of neighborhood-level characteristics on small-area variations of child maltreatment referrals and intimate partner violence we used a Bayesian random-effects modeling approach. Areas of excess risk, and the overlap between child maltreatment referrals and cases of intimate partner violence are illustrated.

Results:

For substantiated child maltreatment referrals, 87% of the total between-area variation in risk is captured by the shared component, while for intimate partner violence the shared component was 70%. The correlation between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence risks was .81. The risk of child maltreatment referrals and intimate partner violence was higher in neighborhoods characterized by low levels of economic and educational status, high levels of public disorder and crime, and high immigrant concentration

Conclusions: 

Results showed that child maltreatment and intimate partner violence risk tend to co-occur in the same disadvantages neighborhoods. Identifying these common risk factors can advance a more integrative response to both types of violence.