Do socio-structural factors influence the incidence and reporting of child neglect? An analysis of multi-sectoral national data from Switzerland

Although there is evidence that documented child neglect is strongly related to the family's environments, environment factors are largely unexplored. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining the relationship between the socio-structures in which a family is living and the number of documented cases of neglect. We used a subsample of Optimus Study 3 data, the first multi-sectoral survey of child maltreatment in Switzerland. Included in this study were 222 organizations and 4,735 cases. The number of reported cases of child neglect varied greatly between regions, up to 6-fold from the canton with the highest number to the canton with the lowest number. Multilevel analysis revealed associations between child neglect reporting rates and cantonal vacant housing rates, social welfare rates, and single-parent household rates. At the organizational level, the sector in which an incident was referred or reported had an impact on the documented incidents of child neglect.