Shared Responsibility for Safety: How Neighborhood Informal Social Control Shapes Adolescent Maltreatment Risk in South Korea

Adolescent maltreatment is a significant public health concern, yet limited research has examined how neighborhood social processes influence risk during adolescence. This study investigates whether adolescents’ perceptions of informal social control of child maltreatment (ISC_CM), neighbors’ willingness to intervene, are associated with maltreatment experiences. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 2,157 adolescents aged 14 to 18 attending middle and high schools in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was used to assess associations between protective and punitive ISC_CM and different types of maltreatment. Higher levels of punitive ISC_CM were associated with lower emotional abuse and marginally lower physical abuse, whereas protective ISC_CM was not associated with any maltreatment type. These findings underscore the importance of strong community intervention norms in preventing adolescent maltreatment and indicate the need for developmentally responsive, community-level prevention strategies.