Parental histories of childhood maltreatment and placement outcomes of children involved with child protective services

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is detrimental to the mental health and emotional health of children. Despite parental histories of CM being a well-documented risk factor for second-generation maltreatment and child protective services (CPS) involvement, past studies have failed to investigate the relationship between parental histories of CM and placement outcomes of children. This study examines the associations between forms of substantiated CM (neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence) experienced by parents, and placement outcomes (presence of out-of-home placement, cumulative duration of placements, presence of an unsuccessful family reunification) of their CPS-involved children. CPS clinical-administrative data from Montréal on CM experiences and placement outcomes was extracted; 1742 children substantiated for CM with at least one parent that was also substantiated for CM in childhood were included. Cox, linear and logistic regression models were conducted to examine the relationships between parental histories of CM and the placement outcomes of children. A relationship was found between maternal histories of neglect and sexual abuse, and paternal histories of psychological abuse with the presence of placement. No significant relationships were found between parental histories of CM and the cumulative duration of placements and the presence of an unsuccessful reunification. Findings suggest that different forms of CM experienced by parents may distinctly be related to the placement outcomes of their children. This study informs intervention and prevention strategies aiming at supporting families where intergenerational continuity of CPS involvement is present. • Out-of-home placements can have harmful effects on the development of children. • Parental histories of CM are associated with the placement outcomes of children. • CPS caseworkers should consider parents' histories of CM in interventions.