NEGLECTED CHILDREN

(AN EMPERICAL STUDY)

SOCIOLOGY

Submitted by:
NAGA LAHARI
ROLL NO. 2013048
SEMESTER I

DAMODARAM SANJIVYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Visakhapatnam
OCTOBER 2013

CERTIFICATE

Title of the Subject: Sociology

Name of the Faculty: LakshmipatiRaju

Particulars

Date and Signature of the Remarks

Faculty

Abstract
First consultation
Second consultation
Third consultation
final submission

and

I, NAGA LAHARI, hereby declare that this project titled An Emperical study on
Neglected Children submitted by me is original works undertaken by me. I have duly
acknowledged all the sources from which the ideas and extracts have been taken. The project
is free from plagiarism issue.

(Signature of candidate)
Place: Visakhapatnam

Naga Lahari

Date: 30th October, 2013

Roll no. 2013048

Semester I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I consider myself lucky that I got the chance to do an Emperical study on Neglected
Children.
I thank the subject teacher, LakshmipatiRaju for letting me choose the topic, Mrs. Savita
Pagnis and Dr. Lakshmipati Raju for suggesting and advising on the work.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE
CERTIFICATE

Page number
02

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

03

1. INTORDUCTION

05

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

06

3. RESEARCH PROBLEM
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

23
23

5. COLLECTION OF DATA

23

6. ANALYSIS OF DATA

27

7. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

24

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
9. INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

24
25

1. Introduction
Child neglect is a form of child maltreatment1. Child neglect is a deficit in meeting a
childs basic needs. Furthermore, child neglect is the failure to provide basic physical
health care, supervision, nutrition, emotional nurturing, education or safe housing.
Society generally believes there are necessary behaviours a caregiver must provide a child
in order for the child to develop (physically, socially, and emotionally). Child neglect
depends on how a child and society perceives the parents behaviour; it is not how the
parent believes they are behaving towards their children. Parental failure to provide when
options are available is different from failure to provide when options are not available.
Poverty is often an issue and leads parents to not being able to provide. The
circumstances and intentionality must be examined before defining behaviour as
neglectful. Child neglect is the most frequent form of abuse of children, with children that
are born to young mothers at a substantial risk for neglect. In 2008, the U.S. state and
local child protective services received 3.3 million reports of children being abused or
neglected. Seventy-one percent of the children were classified as victims of child neglect
(Child Abuse & Neglect). Maltreated children/youth were about five times more likely
to have a first emergency department presentation for suicide-related behaviour compared
to their peers, in both boys and girls. Children/youth permanently removed from their
parental home because of substantiated child maltreatment are at an increased risk of a
first presentation to the emergency department for suicide-related behaviour.
2. Review of literatures
Neglect is notoriously difficult to define as there are no clear, cross-cultural standards for
desirable or minimally adequate child-rearing practices. Research shows that neglect
often coexists with other forms of abuse and adversity2.While neglect generally refers to
the absence of parental care and the chronic failure to meet childrens basic needs,
defining those needs has not been straightforward. Working Together defines neglect as:
The persistent failure to meet a childs basic physical and psychological needs is likely to
result in the serious impairment of the childs health or development. Neglect may occur
1 Cruel or inhumane treatment
2 A state of misfortune or affliction
5

during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect
may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
(including exclusion from home or abandonment); protect a child from physical and
emotional harm or danger; ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate
care-givers) or ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include
neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child's basic emotional needs.
Child neglect is also called psychological abuse. It is a form of child abuse that occurs
when someone intentionally does not provide a child with food, water, shelter, clothing,
medical care, or other necessities. Forms of child neglect includes, allowing the child to
witness violence or severe abuse between parents or adult, ignoring, insulting, or
threatening the child with violence, not providing the child with a safe environment and
adult emotional support, and showing reckless disregard for the child's well-being.
Other definitions of child neglect are:
"The failure of a person responsible for a childs care and upbringing to safeguard the
childs emotional and physical health and general well-being acts of commission, harm to
a child may or may not be the intended. The consequences are
The persistent failure to meet a childs basic physical or psychological needs resulting in
serious impairment of health and development.
There are various types of Neglected Children. Some of them are
Physical Neglect: Physical neglect refers to the failure to provide a child with basic
necessities of life such as food and clothing.
Medical Neglect: Medical neglect is when caregivers do not meet childrens basic health
care needs.
Emotional Neglect: Emotional neglect is failing to provide emotional support such as
emotional security and encouragement.
Educational or developmental neglect: It is the failure to provide a child with
experiences for necessary growth and development, such as not sending a child to school
or giving him or her an education.
Depending on the laws and child protective policies in your area, leaving a young child
unsupervised may be considered neglect, especially if doing so places the child in danger.
6

Causes of Neglect:
The causes of child neglect are complex and can be attributed to three different levels.
They are: an Intrapersonal, an Inter-personal or family, and a Social or Economic
level. Although the causes of neglect are varied, studies suggest that, amongst other
things,

parental

mental

health

problems,

substance

use, domestic

violence,

unemployment, and poverty are factors which increase the likelihood of neglect. Children
that result from unintended pregnancies are more likely to suffer from abuse and
neglect. They are also more likely to live in poverty3. Neglectful families often experience
a variety or a combination of adverse factors.
Intra-personal
At the intra-personal level, the discussion around neglectful parents characteristics often
focuses on mothers, reflecting traditional notions of women as primary caregivers for
children. "Neglectful attributes" have included an inability to plan, lack of confidence
about the future, difficulty with managing money, emotional immaturity, lack of
knowledge of children's needs, a large number of children, being a teenage mother, high
levels of stress and poor socio, economic circumstances. Mental health problems,
particularly depression, have been linked with a parent's inability to meet a child's
needs. Likewise, substance misuse is believed to play a crucial role in undermining a
parents ability to cope with parental responsibilities. While the literature largely focuses
on mothers, the role of fathers in neglect as well as the impact of their absence remains
largely unexplored. There is still little known about whether mothers and fathers neglect
differently and how this affects children. Similarly, not much is known about whether
girls and boys experience neglect differently.
Inter-personal or Family
At the inter-personal or family level, a significant number of neglectful families are
headed by a lone mother or have a transient male. Unstable and abusive relationships
have also been mentioned as increasing the risk of child neglect. The impact of living
with domestic violence on children frequently includes either direct violence or forced
witnessing of abuse, which is potentially very damaging to children. While the UK
Department of Health connects childrens exposure to domestic violence to parents'
failure to protect them from emotional harm, the notion of "failure to protect" has been
3 impoverishment
7

challenged as it focuses primarily on the responsibility of the abused parent, usually the
mother, who is often herself at significant risk. A recent reform to the Domestic Violence,
Crime and Victims Act (2004) has introduced a new offence of causing or allowing the
death of a child or vulnerable adult, thus reinforcing the notion of "failure to protect".
Research on domestic violence, however, has consistently shown that supporting the nonabusive parent is good child protection. There is some indication of the cyclical and intergenerational nature of neglect. A study on childhood abuse and later sensitivity to a
childs emotions showed that mothers with a self-reported history of physical abuse had
higher indications of insensitivity and lack of atonements to infants emotional cures than
mothers with no history of abuse4. Although the literature suggests that neglectful parents
may have been affected adversely by their own past experiences, more research is needed
to explore the link between past experiences of maltreatment and neglectful parenting
behaviours. Alcohol and drug abuse in caregivers are important risk-factors for recurrent
child maltreatment after accounting for other known risk factors; the increased risk
appears to be similar between alcohol and drug abuse.
Social or Economic
At the social or economic level, the association between poverty and neglect has
frequently been made. The NSPCC maltreatment study supports the association between
neglect and lower socio-economic class. US studies have shown that less affluent families
are more likely to be found to maltreat their children, particularly in the form of neglect
and physical abuse, than affluent families. Some argue that many forms of physical
neglect, such as inadequate clothing, exposure to environmental hazards and poor hygiene
may be directly attributed to poverty whereas others are more cautious in making a direct
link. While poverty is believed to increase the likelihood of neglect, poverty does not
predetermine neglect. Many low-income families are not neglectful but provide loving
homes for their children. However, when poverty coexists with other forms of adversity, it
can negatively impact parents ability to cope with stressors and undermine their capacity
to adequately respond to their child's needs. Mc Sherry argues that the relationship
between child neglect and poverty should be seen as circular and interdependent. Where
caregiver alcohol abuse is identified, children are significantly more likely to experience
multiple incidents of neglect compared with children where this is not identified, as were
4 clapperclaw
8

children where other family risk factors (including markers of socioeconomic

disadvantage) are found.
Effects
Effects of child neglect can differ depending on the individual and how much treatment is
provided, but generally speaking child neglect that occurs in the first two years of a
childs life may be more of an important precursor of childhood aggression compared to
later neglect, which may not have as strong a correlation. Children who suffer from
neglect most often also have attachment difficulties, cognitive deficits, emotional or
behavioural problems, and physical consequences as a result of neglect. Early neglect has
the potential to modify the bodys stress response, specifically cortical levels (stress
hormones) which can cause abnormalities and alter the bodys overall health. Research
has shown that there is a relationship between neglect and disturbed patterns of infantcaretaker attachment. If parents lack sensitivity to their babys needs, the baby will
develop insecure-anxious attachment. The neglectful behaviour the child experiences will
contribute to their attachment difficulties and formation of relationships in the future, or
lack thereof. In addition to biological and social effects, neglect affects intellectual ability
and cognitive/academic deficits. Also, children who suffer from child neglect may also
suffer from anxiety or impulse-control disorders. Another result of child neglect is what
people call failure to thrive. Infants who have deficits in growth and abnormal
behaviours such as withdrawal, apathy and excessive sleep are failing to thrive, rather
than developing to become healthy individuals.
A study by Robert Wilson, a professor at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, and
his colleagues, showed for the first time that children under the age of 18 when they were
moderately neglected in some manner by their caregivers had a 3 times likely risk of
stroke over those with moderately low levels, after controlling for some common risk
factors (they interviewed 1,040 participants ages 55 or older; after 3 1/2 years, 257 of
them died and 192 were autopsied, with 89 having stroke evidence upon autopsy and
another 40 had a history of it). Neglect, bullying, and abuse have previously been linked
to changes in the brain's grey matter and white matter and to accelerated aging. For
further information, please see the link to the online news story article on the study, from
the NBCNews.com Health VITALS blog, by unnamed Live Science staff.
Who is reported for neglecting children?
9

In terms of who is reported for neglectful behaviour, it is most often women. The higher
proportion of females reported for neglect may reflect the social attitude that mothers are
responsible for meeting the needs of their children. Relatively young, poor women with
no partner kill their offspring non-violently, either directly or through abandonment, and
they attempt to conceal the body. In recent years, latent issues for child development and
for the culture and political economy that are associated with paternal neglect have
received more attention, however. Neglecting parents interact less with their children,
engage in less verbal instruction and play behaviour, show less affection and are involved
in more negative interactions with their children, for example verbal aggression5. Often
parents who neglect their children are single parents or disabled mothers who already
have to care for themselves, and therefore the child is an additional stress. This additional
stress is often neglected. Family size can contribute to child neglect. If a family has
several children, they may not be able to give all the children all the basic necessities
needed to survive and thrive. Unfortunately, if the family cannot provide for all their
children, children can suffer neglect. Family history can play a role in parents neglectful
behaviour. If parents were neglected as children meaning they learned neglectful
behaviour from their own parents, they often internalize and believe those behaviours to
be the norm, which results in neglecting their own children. In one study done in 2011,
results showed that one in four mothers were neglectful, and neglect was four times as
likely with a maternal history of physical abuse in childhood than with no history of
maltreatment.
Intervention programs
Fortunately, there are early intervention programs and treatments for child neglect. In
addition to individual, family, group counselling and social support services, behavioural
skills training programs exist to eliminate problematic behaviour and teach parents
appropriate parenting behaviour. Programs, such as Triple P (Parenting Program), a
positive parenting program, works with parents whose children have discernible
problems. It is a multilevel, parenting and family support strategy (Triple P). Neglectful
families often experience multiple problems and deficits, lack of knowledge, skills and
resources. If parents are educated on proper parenting and given the appropriate
resources, it could help decrease the amount of child neglect cases. When deciding
5 hostility
10

whether to leave a child home alone, you will want to consider your child's physical,
mental, and emotional well-being, as well as laws and policies in your state regarding this
issue.
What is child neglect?
Child neglect is another form of child abuse. It involves the persistent failure to meet a
child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious
impairment of the child's health, physical, emotional or mental development.
Types of Neglect
Physical (e.g., failure to provide necessary food or shelter
clothing, or lack of appropriate supervision)
Medical (e.g., failure to provide necessary medical or mental health treatment)
Educational (e.g., failure to educate, provide learning facilities, a child or attend to
special education needs)
Emotional (e.g., not paying attention to a child's emotional needs, failure to provide
psychological care, or allowing the child to use alcohol, drugs or get involved with crime)
In this lesson, we shall learn more about the causes of neglect, effects and how to tell that
a child is being neglected.
What Causes Child Neglect?
Child Neglect, like the other forms of abuse, is one that is not easy to notice, until at a
later stage where the damage is already done.
Children may be neglected for a number of reasons. some of them are mentioned below:
They come from disadvantaged backgrounds, although most children from such
backgrounds are well-cared-for.
A child in care or seeking asylum is also vulnerable to neglect.

11

Adults who simply do not understand the needs of their Children and Some adults never
had any good care as Children, and have grown to think that it is acceptable.
Mental health problems, domestic abuse, and drug or alcohol misuse, may also affect a
parents ability to meet their Childrens needs.
Some marriages are fraught with problems and is the source of hostility and fights,
Caregivers from such marriages are more likely to take their problems out on their
children in the form of neglect than those who are in good marriages
Adults in dire financial circumstances may direct the same, guilt and perceived failure
towards people around them, including children. They can even blame children for their
situations and consequently, shun their responsibilities to them.
Some common signs of child neglect include
Note that the signs discussed below are only hints that can suggest that children are being
neglected. Until an investigation is done and a conclusion is made, it is not easy to claim
neglect by just these signs.
General indicators
An inadequate home environment can be a good hint
Caregivers leave children alone for very long periods, with little or no protection from
danger and adversity.
Adults with mental health problems, substance abusers, alcoholics and adults who are
always involved with violent behaviour can also be tell-tale signs of neglect.
Child behaviour indicators
A repeatedly poorly dressed child, unkempt children and kids with constantly smelly
clothes, body and mouth, can also indicate that there are problems at home.

12

A child taking on the role of parent of other family members, in the absence of a
parent, is also another sign.
The Effects of Child Neglect
High frequency of neglect can result in:
Displaying an inability to control emotions or impulses, usually characterized by frequent
outbursts.
Being quiet and submissive, and acting highly dependent.
Having difficulty learning in school and getting along with siblings or classmates, with
little or no interactions with peers.
Eating or sleeping disorders
Getting involved with socially and emotionally inappropriate things for their age, like
provoking fights and sexual interactions.
Being unresponsive to affection
Displaying anger
Looks uninterested and unmotivated, and demonstrating helplessness and understress
Displaying self-abusive behaviour
Exhibiting panic or dissociative disorders, attention, hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and
low self esteem.
Always involved with one crime or the other, and always in trouble with school
authorities.
Engaging in drug abuse, alcohol and sexual activities leading to teen pregnancy or
fatherhood.
Having poor academic achievement.
Tips to prevent child neglect
Public awareness, increasing public awareness efforts to educate the public, parents and
care givers about child neglect.

13

Parents should be equipped with parenting skills and be taught what their responsibilities
towards children are.
Increasing efforts to address social problems such as poverty, substance abuse, and family
violence which are related to child neglect
Providing mental health services to parents who need and want such services, and making
mental health services available to victims of child neglect as early as possible to prevent
the future perpetuation of neglect.
Increasing services to families such as home visiting, early childhood education, and
family planning as well as family support systems.
Understanding the causes of Neglect
Effective intervention to prevent or remedy child neglect requires an understanding of the
causes. However, specification of the causes of neglect is hampered by the limited
research on child neglect. Most studies of child maltreatment include both neglectful and
abusive families and fail to differentiate between the groups, thus making it impossible to
identify results specifically related to neglect. The numbers of studies that focus
specifically on child neglect are few in comparison to studies on other types of
maltreatment. Studies are most often based on small, selected samples of reported and
verified neglect, composed almost exclusively of very low-income families. For these
reasons, the information about causes of neglect is limited and must be considered as only
suggested by existing research.
Nevertheless, it is clear from existing studies and from the experience of practitioners that
there is no single cause of the inadequate parenting we term child neglect. Thus,
understanding the causality of child neglect requires that it be viewed from a broad
ecological-systems perspective. Building on the previous work of child development
experts, Urie Bronfenbrenner, James Garbarino, and others, Belsksy has proposed that the
causes of child maltreatment be considered in such an ecological framework Belsky and
Vondra have proposed that the determinants of adequate parenting arise from three
sources.
Parents own developmental history and resultant personal psychological resources,
Characteristics of the family and child and contextual sources of stress and
support.Belsky and vondra suggest that these factors interact to influence parenting as
14

illustrated in below. The model illustrates that the sources of influence on parenting are
interactive and often reciprocal. The developmental experiences of parents influence their
personality and psychological resources, which directly influence both their parenting
attitudes and behavior and their ability to develop supportive relationships with others.
Parenting behavior influences the child's personality and behavior, which reciprocally
influences parents' response to the child. The social context of the parent'child
relationship, which includes the marital relationship, social network supports, and workrelated factors, is highly influential on parenting. The model provides an organizing
framework for examining the contributing causes of neglect suggested by the existing
research.
Parents Developmental History and Personality Factors
The ability of a parent to provide adequate care for a child depends partly on his/her
emotional maturity, coping skills, knowledge about children, mental capacity, and
parenting skills.
Belsky and vondra review evidence from numerous studies that provide support for the
conclusion that "at least under certain stressful conditions, developmental history
influences psychological well-being, which in turn affects parental functioning and, as a
result, child development.
These authors cite, among others, the Berkeley Growth Study, which provided data to
support the linkages between personality, parenting, and then to child development.
Growing up in unstable, hostile, non nurturing homes led to unstable personalities when
the children became adults, which led to stressful marriages and abusive parenting
practices with their own children. Belsky and Vondra conclude from their review of
relevant research that parental personality is the most influential factor on parenting
because the personal psychological resources of the individual are also influential in
determining the marital partner, the quality of the marital relationship, and the amount of
social support one receives.
Child development researches have used attachment theory to shed light on the
personality development of abusive and neglectful mothers. Egeland and colleagues have
concluded from their longitudinal study of high-risk mothers and children that the
mothers' lack of secure psychological attachment and psychological immaturity result
from inadequate care received as children. They found that regardless of level of stress or
15

the availability of emotional supports for parenting, the emotional stability of the mother
was the most significant predictor of maltreatment. Mothers who were no longer
maltreating their children at a 6-year followup were "more outgoing, more mature and
less reactive to their feelings, more realistic in problem solving" than those who
continued to neglect and abuse Others have also concluded that anxious or insecure
emotional attachment between children and their parents results from interactions with
parents who are physically or emotionally inaccessible, unresponsive, or inappropriately
responsive to their children.The conclusion of these studies is that it is not so much the
inadequate or abusive nurturing experienced as children, but the unacknowledged
deprivations and unresolved feelings around these early experiences that leave the parents
unable to offer their children the consistent nurturing needed for the development of
secure psychological attachments.
A cycle of neglect is suggested in numerous studies. In Egeland et al.'s longitudinal study
of maltreatment, only two out of the eight mothers who had been physically neglected as
children were providing adequate care for their children. For the 35 mothers who had
grown up in emotionally supportive homes, 20 were providing adequate care for their
children; only 1 was maltreating her child. Results of a study by Main and Goldwyn of 30
middle class women, not known to be abusive or neglectful, indicated that a mother's
rejection by her own parents in childhood was strongly related to her own infant's
avoidance of her following brief separations. Over 56 percent of the 46 neglectful
mothers in Polansky's study felt unwanted as children, and 41 percent had experienced
some long-term out-of-home care as a child. Nevertheless, the direct cause effect
relationship between parental history of neglect and subsequent neglect of children is not
clearly established by the research. Most of the studies cited above are based on high risk
or clinical samples or retrospective studies of identified neglectful parents who are not
representative of the population of neglect victims.
Indeed, the indication is that there are important mediating factors in the transmission of
neglect from one generation to the next. Victims of neglect who do not repeat the cycle
have fewer stressful life events; stronger, more stable and supportive relationships with
husbands or boyfriends; physically healthier babies; and fewer ambivalent feelings about
their child's birth. They are also less likely to have been maltreated by both parents and
more apt to have reported a supportive relationship with one parent or with another adult.

16

These mediating factors provide critical indicators for interventions to improve parenting
potential.
Polansky and colleagues identified distinguishing psychological characteristics of
neglectful mothers, first among poor whites in rural areas of the South, then among poor
whites in Philadelphia. From the research with rural, Appalachian mothers, Polansky et al.
identified five distinct types of neglectful mothers:
Impulse-ridden mothers, apathetic-futile mothers, mothers suffering from reactive
depression, mentally retarted mothers and psychotic mothers.
The subsequent study in Philadelphia confirmed the first two classifications of neglectful
mothers and identified character disorders, rather than neuroses or psychoses, as the
predominant psychiatric diagnosis of neglectful mothers. Polansky and colleagues
described the characteristic "modal personality" for neglectful mothers as:
Less able to love, less capable of working productively, less open about feelings, more
prone to living planlessly and impulsively, but also susceptible to psychological
symptoms and to phases of passive inactivity and fatalism.
Polansky referred to the personalities of neglectful parents as "infantile or narcissistic" to
reflect their markedly immature personality development resulting from early emotional
deprivation. Many neglectful mothers are indeed psychologically immature and childlike
in their inabilities to consider the needs of others, postpone gratification of basic
impulses, and to invest themselves emotionally in another person.
Polansky and colleagues found impulsivity to be the personality characteristic that was
most highly correlated with neglect among the low-income white mothers studied.
This characteristic of neglectful mothers is corroborated by Friedrich, Tyler, and Clark's
study of the personality characteristics of low-income, abusive, neglectful, and nonm
altreating control mothers. The authors found that the neglectful mothers, when compared
with the other two groups on standard psychological measures, were the most
pathological of the three groups and were characterized as "the most hostile, most
impulsive, under most stress, and the least socialized." The neglectful mothers as a group
were judged to be "more dysfunctional than the abusive mothers, less socialized, more
angry, more impulsive, more easily aroused (by infant cries) and have greater difficulty
habituating to stressful and nonstressful stumli.
17

Neglecting parents also score significantly higher on the rigidity, loneliness, unhappiness,
and the negative concept of self and child dimensions of Milner's Child Abuse Potential
inventory.
Depression
Although not consistently supported by research, clinical depression has also been
associated with mothers who neglect. Studies of depressed women by psychiatric
researchers have consistently found that depressed mothers are more likely than non
depressed mothers to be hostile, rejecting, and indifferent toward their children and to be
neglectful especially with respect to feeding and supervision.
Evidence for the association of depression and neglect from studies of neglect is mixed.
Polansky's descriptions of neglectful mothers in Appalachia paint a picture of depressed
women. But only two controlled studies of neglectful mothers have specifically examined
the relationship between depression and neglect. One study did not find a significant
difference between small samples of neglectful, abusive, and normal mothers on a
measure of psychopathology that included depression.
Zuravins more recent study of neglecting and non neglecting AFDC mothers did find a
significant relationship between depression and neglect. Results of a controlled study of
neglectful families currently in progress adds further support for the relationship between
depression and neglect. Scores on a standardized measure of depression indicated that 60
percent of neglectful mothers versus only 33 percent of a comparison group of lowincome non neglecting mothers had a "clinically significant" problem with
depression. Further research is needed to firmly establish the relationship of clinical
depression and neglect, but such a diagnosis should be considered when assessing child
neglect and appropriate clinical treatment offered if indicated.
Poor social skills
As Polansky suggest, neglectful parents are typically not only deficient in their parenting
skills, but have pervasive deficiencies in coping skills in many areas of living. The
researchers' initial studies of neglectful mothers in Appalachia revealed that deficiencies
in social skills and poor self-esteem resulted in neglectful mothers selecting equally
ineffectual, unsuccessful male partners, who only served to confirm and compound their
deficiencies. A subsequent study, which included neglectful fathers, revealed deficiencies

18

in social participation and in their abilities to invest themselves emotionally in another

person and in productive work.
In England longitudinal mother'child study, the existence of an intact, long-term, stable
relationship with a husband or boyfriend was found to be the critical factor distinguishing
mothers who discontinued maltreating their children from those who continued to
maltreat. Belsky has suggested that the relationship between mother and spouse or
boyfriend is the most critical supportive linkage for parents. The majority of neglectful
mothers lack this critical support.
Neglectful mothers also have significant deficiencies in their social-communication and
problem-solving skills. Polansky has characterized neglectful mothers as "verbally
inaccessible." They lack the ability to express their own feelings in words, and therefore
are not good candidates for traditional psychotherapy. He explains that they are
psychologically detached or "split off" from their own feelings, and thus, are unable to
recognize feelings and put them into words.
Neglectful parents have also been found to lack knowledge of and empathy for children's
age-appropriate needs. They have more unrealistic and more negative expectations of
their children than non neglecting parents.
Substance Abuse
Abuse of alcohol or drugs is often present in cases of child neglect. Recent reports from
urban CPS agencies indicate that substance abuse is a factor in a growing percentage of
child neglect cases. Estimates range from a low of less than 24 percent to 80 to 90 percent
of all child maltreatment reports. An earlier study found that 52 percent of the children
removed from their homes for severe child abuse or neglect had at least one parent with a
history of alcoholism. A study of women served in a Chicago alcoholism treatment
program reported that 65 to 75 percent of the women were neglectful toward their
children. The epidemic of cocaine addiction in urban inner-city areas has resulted in large
increases in the numbers of neglect reports. The alarming increase of cocaine-affected
infants has placed large burdens on the already overtaxed child welfare system. In spite of
these associations, there is yet insufficient data to conclude that substance abuse causes
neglect, but it is an increasingly significant contributing factor.
Characteristics of Children and Family System Factors

19

Research suggests that certain factors in family composition, size, and patterns of
interaction contribute to child neglect. Even some characteristics of children may
contribute to neglectful parenting
Child Characteristics
Studies have not identified unique characteristics of neglected children that contribute to
neglect. However, Crittenden's studies of parent'child interactions in abusive and
neglectful families suggest that the children in neglectful families develop behaviour
patterns as a result of the interactions that make them more likely to experience further
neglect. As a result of the mother's inattention, the neglected child often develops patterns
of either extremely passive, withdrawing behaviour or random, undisciplined activity.
Both of these patterns are likely to result in further inattention and distancing on the part
of the child's neglectful parent. Studies have not clearly established the relationship
between handicapped children and neglect. However, Belsky and Vondra cite numerous
studies that support the association of prematurity, "difficult" temperament, and mentally
handicapped children with tendencies of their parents to be less responsive, less attentive
to their needs. Younger children are more vulnerable to serious injury from neglect, but
when educational neglect is included, older children are more often neglected.
Family Composition
Most neglectful families are single-parent families. The absence of the father in the
majority of neglectful families means lower income and less tangible resources to provide
for children's needs. Polansky, Chalmers, Buttenweiser, and Williams found that
neglectful families with fathers present in the household had significantly higher income
and provided better physical care than the single-parent families, but not better
emotional/cognitive care. The physical absence or emotional disengagement of the father
has been identified as contributing to deprived parenting in families of failure to thrive
infants. Beyond these studies, little research attention has been focused on fathers or
adults males in neglectful families.
Family size
Chronic neglectful families tend to be large families with fewer resources to meet basic
needs than other families. Numerous studies have discovered that neglectful families on
the average have more children than non neglecting families. Studies of neglectful

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families by Polansky in Philadelphia and in Georgia found that neglectful families

averaged 3.5 or more children, compared to significantly fewer children in similarly
situated (low socioeconomic status [SES]) non neglecting control families. Similar
patterns of larger than average number of children in neglectful families were discovered
by Giovannoni and Billingsley and by Wolock and Horowitz. The Study of National
Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect reported that the estimated rate of
neglect among families with four or more children was almost double the rate among
families with three or fewer children.
Family Interaction Patterns
Patterns of verbal and nonverbal communication between neglectful parents and children
have been characterized as infrequent and predominantly negative. Burgess and Conger
found that there were significantly fewer positive interactions and more negative
interactions between neglectful parents and their children than in either abusive or in
nonmaltreating families studied. These researchers found that, compared with abusive
mothers and non maltreating controls, the neglectful mothers stood out as the most
negative and least positive in their relationships with other family members.
Crittenden similarly concluded that "neglecting mothers offered so little stimulation and
responded to so few infant signals that they left their infants socially powerless and
largely responsible for their own stimulation. Their infants showed correspondingly
depressed levels of activity which reduced both the stimulations and feedback available to
the already unresponsive mother. Mutual passivity was easily maintained." This low level
of positive interaction and stimulation between neglectful mothers and their children was
confirmed by a series of studies by Crittenden and others.
Crittenden describes distinctive patterns of interaction in neglecting, abusing and
neglecting, and in marginally maltreating families observed in a small sample of these
families. The neglecting families in this study were largely young families with few
children, with more than one adult caretaker, usually the maternal grandmother or
mother's boyfriend. Parental coping strategies were withdrawal, deference to others
whenever possible, or leaving tasks undone. Discipline was rarely used with the children.
The parents' informal support networks were characterized by almost daily contact with
relatives, who offered some tangible, but not emotional, support.

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The neglecting parents are characterized by Crittenden as unresponsive and withdrawn:

"They responded to few of their children's overtures when interacting with them and
initiated almost no activity... Their children responded with a reduction in communicative
activity." Toddlers in the neglectful homes, as soon as they were able to walk, sought out
their own stimulation through uncontrolled exploratory activity. Neglectful mothers
largely ignored these "toddlers on the loose," only infrequently ineffectively attempted to
exercise some control by yelling at them, often without bothering to observe the results.
The children merely imitated the parent's disregard.
Neglected families who were also abusive were typically large, very unstable, and
disorganized, with children sired by several different fathers. The mother had often lived
with a series of men, been alone, and lived with her own mother for periods of time. "The
only certainty was that the present structure, too, would change. The parent-child
interactions in these families vacillated from the extremes of non systematic,
unpredictable, violent episodes of physical punishment in an effort to control the
children's behaviour to sullen withdrawal. The goal was momentary peace and quiet relief
from the chaos in the family. Children react to their highly unpredictable environment by
being always on guard and chronically anxious. The need to be ever vigilant to
unpredictable violent adult reactions resulted in the children experiencing significant
developmental delays.
The marginally maltreating families were typically two-parent families, but with different
fathers for the children. The mother-partner relationships were unstable and often
physically abusive. These families were disorganized and chaotic, constantly reacting to a
series of day-to-day crises with frantic, ineffectual activity. There were no consistent rules
or expectations of the children, and discipline was an expression of parents' frustration.
The marginally maltreating parents were not able to engage in systematic problem
solving, but instead stumbled from crisis to crisis trying to cope with whatever limited
methods and help they could muster. These mothers were not always angry and could
respond empathetically to their children's distress when it was expressed dramatically
through tears or tantrums. Consequently, tears and tantrums were frequent, but the solace
that resulted was short-lived and not secure.

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These distinctively different patterns of interaction in contrasting types of neglecting

families reinforce the need to assess each neglectful family independently. Individualized
family patterns suggest the need for individualized interventions to remedy the neglect.
Contextual Sources of Stress and support
Neglectful families do not exist in a vacuum. The availability of formal and informal
supports for parenting from outside the family system is critical determinants of the
adequacy of parenting. Schools, churches, work settings, neighbourhoods, and
communities can supplement parents' resources for providing adequate care for children.
On the other hand, these systems can produce additional demands and stressors, which
make parenting more difficult.
Unemployment which causes psychological and economic stress, is frequent in neglectful
families. Neglectful families are less likely to be involved in church or other formal
organizations that might be sources of tangible or psychological support. Neglectful
families tend to live in impoverished neighbourhoods and view their neighbourhoods as
less helpful and less supportive than do non neglectful parents. Chronically neglecting
families are viewed as deviant, even by their similarly impoverished neighbours, who
avoid social contacts with them. Families of colour, who are overrepresented in child
neglect statistics, must also cope with the stress of racial prejudice in many communities.
RESEARCH PROBLEM
Situation of neglected children in PAPA home, Vizag.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The methodology used in this research is based on empirical data collection, observation
and interviews of 20 neglected children residing there.
COLLECTION OF DATA
The data collection for this research has been done in person by the researcher by visiting
the institution personally to the institution and interacting with people there.
ANALYSIS OF DATA
Age
and
sex

Age

Male

Female

Total

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S.
No.
1
0-10
2
11-20
Table 1

3
7

5
5

8
12

40
60

Social status
S.
No.
1
2
3
4
Table 2

Status

Male

Female

Total

BC
SC
ST
OC

5
2
Nil
2

3
1
1
5

8
3
1
7

40
15
5
35

Religion
S. No.
1
2
3
Table 3

Religion
Hindu
Christian
Muslim

Male
6
4
0

Female
4
3
3

Total
10
7
3

%
50
35
15

Conclusion
Most parents must rely at times on supportive relationships with spouses, other relatives,
neighbours, and friends to cope with demanding parenting tasks, especially in times of
illness, loss of income, or other life crises. Supportive linkages are particularly critical when
the parent or child is handicapped by physical or emotional disabilities, or when there are
many children to care for and few economic resources. Neglectful parents typically lack
strong informal helping resources The social networks of neglectful mothers tend to be
dominated by relatives who are critical, rather than supportive. Interactions with relatives
may be frequent, but not very helpful. Because neglectful parents often lack the necessary
social skills to maintain relationships, already weak linkages tend to break down, leaving the
parents isolated and lonely.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Websites
www.childwelfare.gov

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