Project Director

Trivette, Shawn A.

Department Examiner

Ward, Chandra

Department

Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Child maltreatment does not happen equally across communities. Instead, in some places it is nearly non-existent (less than 1 out of every 11000 children) while in others it is experienced by nearly 10% of the population. This research examined how demographic factors relate to the rate of child abuse and neglect at the county level and found that a decline in economic stability, lack of post-secondary education, an inability to reach financial stability, and the rate of drug usage in a county significantly contributed to the child maltreatment rate. Durkheim’s Theory of Anomie and Merton and Agnew’s Strain Theories were used to describe how these four community factors cause individuals to experience strain, and eventually anomie and dysfunction which can lead to familial abuse or neglect. When these four factors, which inhibit individuals to adhere to culturally defined goals and expectations, are concentrated in a community, as opposed to being experienced by a handful of families within a community in which they are not present, then social strain within the community increases, social support decreases, and child maltreatment is more prevalent.

Acknowledgments

The data utilized in this research project were made available (in part) by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca New York. The data were originally collected by the Children’s Bureau and the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. Funding support for preparing the data for public distribution was provided by a contract (90-CA-1370) between the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and Cornell University. Neither the collector of the original data, funding agency, nor the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect bears any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.

IRB Number

17-077

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2018

Subject

Child welfare -- United States; Child abuse -- United States; Family violence -- United States

Keyword

Child abuse; Child neglect; Child maltreatment; Anomie; Dysfunction; County demographics

Discipline

Sociology

Document Type

Theses

Extent

48 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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