Early Neighbourhood Stress and Child Maltreatment: A Life-Course Analysis of Timing, Accumulation, and Trajectories in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
1
Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1288
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Neighbourhood conditions are important and potentially modifiable determinants of child maltreatment; however, most existing evidence uses cross-sectional data with mixed results.
AIM:
This study examines whether cumulative exposure, sensitive periods, or trajectories of neighbourhood stress (NS) in early childhood are differentially associated with subsequent child abuse.
METHODS:
Data were drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in Bristol, UK (n= 7,742). Mothers reported on NS when their children were 2, 3, 5, and 7 years old. NS was calculated as the mean of 11 items assessing perceived physical disorder and safety concerns (e.g., vandalism, burglaries), with higher scores reflecting more severe problems. Children's exposure to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at age 10 was reported by mothers. Three analytic approaches were applied: (1) cumulative exposure logistic regression models aggregating NS across ages 2-7; (2) sensitive-period logistic regression models simultaneously estimating age-specific NS effects; (3) latent growth curve models to estimate NS trajectories and their association with abuse. All analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic confounders.
RESULTS:
Overall, 7.7% of children experienced any abuse by age 10 (0.1% sexual, 1.5% physical, 6.1% emotional). In cumulative models, higher cumulative NS was associated with increased odds of abuse. Each standard deviation increase in cumulative neighbourhood stress from ages 2-7 was associated with 41% higher odds of child abuse (95% CI: 1.30,1.53). Sensitive-period models indicated broadly similar effect sizes across ages, with no single developmental window showing a disproportionately stronger association. Trajectory analyses identified that higher baseline NS was significantly associated with abuse (β = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.17,0.28), whereas change in NS over time was not (β = 0.05, 95% CI: -0.96, 1.06).
CONCLUSIONS:
Future analyses should investigate the mechanisms through which prolonged exposure to NS during early childhood elevates the risk of child abuse.
Neighbourhood conditions are important and potentially modifiable determinants of child maltreatment; however, most existing evidence uses cross-sectional data with mixed results.
AIM:
This study examines whether cumulative exposure, sensitive periods, or trajectories of neighbourhood stress (NS) in early childhood are differentially associated with subsequent child abuse.
METHODS:
Data were drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in Bristol, UK (n= 7,742). Mothers reported on NS when their children were 2, 3, 5, and 7 years old. NS was calculated as the mean of 11 items assessing perceived physical disorder and safety concerns (e.g., vandalism, burglaries), with higher scores reflecting more severe problems. Children's exposure to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at age 10 was reported by mothers. Three analytic approaches were applied: (1) cumulative exposure logistic regression models aggregating NS across ages 2-7; (2) sensitive-period logistic regression models simultaneously estimating age-specific NS effects; (3) latent growth curve models to estimate NS trajectories and their association with abuse. All analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic confounders.
RESULTS:
Overall, 7.7% of children experienced any abuse by age 10 (0.1% sexual, 1.5% physical, 6.1% emotional). In cumulative models, higher cumulative NS was associated with increased odds of abuse. Each standard deviation increase in cumulative neighbourhood stress from ages 2-7 was associated with 41% higher odds of child abuse (95% CI: 1.30,1.53). Sensitive-period models indicated broadly similar effect sizes across ages, with no single developmental window showing a disproportionately stronger association. Trajectory analyses identified that higher baseline NS was significantly associated with abuse (β = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.17,0.28), whereas change in NS over time was not (β = 0.05, 95% CI: -0.96, 1.06).
CONCLUSIONS:
Future analyses should investigate the mechanisms through which prolonged exposure to NS during early childhood elevates the risk of child abuse.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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