Home, but Left Alone: Time at Home and Child Abuse and Neglect During COVID-19
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Family Issues
Abstract
We use high-frequency mobile phone movement data and quick-release
administrative data from Georgia to examine how time at home during
the COVID-19 pandemic is related to child maltreatment referrals. Findings
show that referrals plummeted by 58% relative to previous years, driven by
fewer referrals from education personnel. After this initial decline, however,
each 15 minutes at home was associated with an increase in referrals of
material neglect by 3.5% and supervisory neglect by 1%. Our results describe
how children have fared during the initial wave of the pandemic, and the
results have long-term implications for child development and well-being.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child abuse, neglect, public policy, COVID-19
Citation
Bullinger, L. R., Boy, A., Feely, M., Messner, S., Raissian, K., Schneider, W., & Self-Brown, S. (2021). Home, but Left Alone: Time at Home and Child Abuse and Neglect During COVID-19. Journal of Family Issues, 0192513X211048474.