Offences against Children
(asked on 10th October 2014) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has commissioned on potential links between child abuse and maltreatment and increased mental health problems amongst children in the last five years.
In 2012 the Department for Education published ‘Safeguarding Children across Services: Messages from Research’ by Ward and Davies. This report pulls together a wide-ranging body of existing research on safeguarding children from abuse and neglect and provides a valuable summary of the impact of neglect on children, including their mental health.[1]
In 2013 the Department published a new analysis of the association between stressful life events and adolescent outcomes, drawing on two existing longitudinal studies; the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).[2] More recently, we published an up-to-date review by Ward et al on the impact of maltreatment on child development, including social, emotional and behavioural development.[3]
Earlier this year the Department published a study focusing specifically on adopted children and their well-being post-adoption.[4] We are currently finalising a similar report focusing specifically on children cared for by Special Guardians; this is due to be published later in the year.
The Department has commissioned a follow-up for one of the studies originally funded by the Safeguarding Research Initiative: the ‘Significant Harm of Infants study’. This study was set up to explore how decisions made by practitioners have influenced the life pathways of 57 young children who were identified as suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm before their first birthdays. The new study is due to be published in 2015.
[1]www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/183231/DFE-RR164.pdf
[2]www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-stressors-and-childrens-outcomes