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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry
Sec. Developmental Psychopathology and Mental Health
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frcha.2024.1386781
This article is part of the Research Topic Women In Developmental Psychopathology and Mental Health View all 3 articles

Forms and Correlates of Child Maltreatment among Autistic Children Involved in Child Protection Services

Provisionally accepted
Jacinthe Dion Jacinthe Dion 1,2*Geneviève Paquette Geneviève Paquette 2,3Mireille De La Sablonnière-Griffin Mireille De La Sablonnière-Griffin 4Malena Argumedes Malena Argumedes 3Alexa Martin-Storey Alexa Martin-Storey 3Marie-Louise Bolduc Marie-Louise Bolduc 3Sonia Hélie Sonia Hélie 5Eve-Line Bussières Eve-Line Bussières 1
  • 1 Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
  • 2 Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse (CRIPCAS), Montreal, Ontario, Canada
  • 3 Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
  • 4 Institut National de la recherche scientifique, Val d’Or, Canada
  • 5 Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background. Child maltreatment is a significant social problem impacting both health and society, with severe and enduring consequences. Certain children, such as those with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, may be more at risk of experiencing maltreatment. However, little research has examined the characteristics of these children. This study aimed to compare child maltreatment and child protection services experienced by autistic children to those of non-autistic children. Method. Drawing from a representative selection of verified cases of child abuse investigated by child protection services in Quebec, Canada, a sample of 1,805 substantiated child maltreatment cases were analyzed. Results. Overall, 4.0% (n = 73) of children had child protection servicesreported autism diagnoses. Attention-deficit (OR = 2.207) and attachment problems risk (OR = 2.899) were higher among autistic children compared to non-autistic children. They were more likely to be boys (OR = 5.747), and to present with an intellectual disability (OR = 11.987), but less likely to have previously been investigated by child protection services (OR = 0.722). Conclusion. These findings suggest that autistic children who have been maltreated are facing specific challenges that require protective interventions tailored to their specific needs.

    Keywords: child abuse1, neglect2, autism3, disability4, child welfare5

    Received: 16 Feb 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dion, Paquette, De La Sablonnière-Griffin, Argumedes, Martin-Storey, Bolduc, Hélie and Bussières. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jacinthe Dion, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.