Conference Agenda
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Session Overview |
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Symposium 5: Multi-sectoral Approaches to Child Protection in Switzerland: Early Childhood Adversity, Contextual Risks, and Multisystemic Interventions
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Multi-sectoral Approaches to Child Protection in Switzerland: Early Childhood Adversity, Contextual Risks, and Multisystemic Interventions This symposium sheds light on the adversity that children and adolescents encounter growing up in challenging contexts, drawing from multi-sectoral Swiss research. Research presented includes epidemiological, intervention, and administrative data to illustrate complex individual, familial, and contextual risks. The first presentation addresses early onset and chronicity of maltreatment, revealing distinct household risk factors and nuanced correlates for early or chronic psychological and physical abuse self-reported by youths in the school context. The second talk reveals insights from young adult care leavers and highlights intersecting biosocial, migratory, and familial stressors before and during out-of-home care, emphasizing the cumulative burden and the need for targeted preventive strategies starting early in childhood. The third talk displays the effectiveness of Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN), demonstrating improvements in child and parent outcomes and reduced neglect risk in high-risk families. The last presentation provides an overview over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child protection practices through administrative data trends and service user perspectives, revealing service gaps and increased disadvantage among vulnerable groups. Together, these insights provide multi-sectoral perspectives on familial, systemic, and pandemic-related influences, making a compelling case for multifaceted interventions and integrated monitoring approaches to better support children growing up in adversity. This symposium aims to foster dialogue and collaboration across sectors including schools, youth welfare and mental health services, and child protection services to advance child well-being in challenging contexts. Presentations of the Symposium Early Onset and Chronic Exposure to Child Maltreatment: Illustrating Patterns of Household Risk Factors for Psychological and Physical Abuse in Swiss Adolescents Background: Early childhood maltreatment is discussed as both a harmful influence on developmental outcomes and a significant risk factor for subsequent victimization. But there is limited research on risk factor patterns associated with early onset and chronic exposure, particularly in general population samples. Objective: This study aims to investigate: (1) the age chronology of self-reported exposure to child maltreatment, and (2) illustrate risk factor patterns associated with early onset or chronic exposure across distinct maltreatment types. Methods: The study relies on a classroom-based online survey in Switzerland with a sample of n = 1’402 adolescents. Self-reported data were collected on psychological and physical abuse, along with household-level risk factors. Result: Among the 41.7% of students reporting psychological abuse, one third (32.5%) indicated chronic or early exposure. For physical abuse, 34% reported victimization, of which 37.8% were exposed either chronically or since early childhood. Network analyses revealed distinct patterns across maltreatment types. Discussions & Conclusions: Early and chronic exposure to child maltreatment is frequent and closely tied to household risk factors. While physical and psychological abuse share some common correlates, their household contexts differ, highlighting the importance of tailoring prevention and intervention strategies to specific forms of maltreatment. Early Family Backgrounds and Placement Histories of Young Adults Previously Placed Out-of-Home: Findings from the ‘Swiss Youth Welfare Trajectories: Learning from experience’ JAEL–study Introduction: Young people placed in out-of-home care (OHC) report high rates of parental maltreatment, accumulate diverse psychosocial stressors, and are exposed to contextual adversity before, during, and after OHC. This talk aims to highlighting early family backgrounds and placement biographies of young adults who were previously in OHC highlighting complex, cumulating, and intersecting risks. Methods: In the JAEL study, 231 formerly out-of-home placed young adults (~1/3 women, Mage = 26) were assessed about ten years after the MAZ.-study using online questionnaires and interviews. Family background and placement characteristics were captured with anamnestic questionnaires and qualitative interviews. Child maltreatment retrospectively with the MACE scale. Results: Before placement, over 40% lived in single-parent households, many in patchwork families, often with lower or troubled socio-economic backgrounds. About half had at least one foreign-born parent, with some reporting migration-related stressors. Two-thirds had a parent with psychiatric treatment, substance problems, or a criminal conviction. Overall, 87.5% of participants reported child maltreatment before age 18, 61.4% before age 6. At first placement, mean age was 11.5 years: 53.6% entered care between ages 13–17, 29.4% between ages 6–12, 7.1% between ages 3–5, and 6.2% between ages 0–2. On average, participants experienced 3.7 placements; 4.4% had more than 10, and 37% had lived in foster care as well as residential homes. Discussions & Conclusions: Children in out-of-home care face early and intersecting risks, with maltreatment and adversity compounding over time. Prevention should strengthen families and reduce early stressors, while interventions foster resilience during and after placement. MST-CAN – A Family Psychiatric Approach for High-Risk Families Facing Neglect and Abuse Background: Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is a structured and licensed home-based, family psychiatric treatment program. The program aims to reduce the psychological strain on families and, most importantly, to lower the risk of neglect and abuse. It is specifically designed for high-risk families, where parents often suffer from mental health disorders and are overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities, leading child protection services to consider out-of-home placements. Method: Several studies were conducted with N = 88 families. The children, with a mean age of 9.36 (SD = 3.22), were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Relationship Problems Questionnaire. Parental stress was measured with the Parental Stress Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The outcomes for children were compared to a matched control group from residential care facilities (N = 43). Additionally, the risk of neglect was evaluated by referring social workers using the Child Neglect Index. Results: Both parental and child psychological distress significantly decreased, with medium to large effect sizes (d = 0.5 - 0.7). The risk of neglect, as assessed by social workers, showed a substantial reduction with a large effect size. Notably, 95% of the children were able to remain with their families, without any further reports of endangerment. Discussion & Conclusion: MST-CAN demonstrates the value of combining real-world, environment-focused interventions with evidence-based psychotherapy for high-risk families. The program highlights the potential for keeping families together by addressing core psychological and environmental challenges effectively. Child Protection in Challenging Contexts: Trends in Administrative Data and Experiences of Service Users During and After Covid-19 Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for child protection (CP) services, raising concerns about how vulnerable children and families were identified and supported. At the same time risk factors for child abuse and neglect (e.g., parental stress) were exacerbated, especially in families facing multiple burdens even before the pandemic. This study combines quantitative analyses of administrative data with qualitative accounts from service users to examine how the pandemic affected CP and those involved. Methods: Using time-series analyses, we investigate trends in CP mandates in Zurich from 2016 to 2024 (N= 19,615 CP cases). In parallel, experiences of 11 service users (data collection ongoing) are explored through narrative interviews. Results: Preliminary findings suggest that service provision dropped during the first months of the pandemic, peaked in 2022, and subsequently returned to pre-pandemic trends by 2023. Insights into service users' perspectives highlight their dependence on institutional implementation of Covid-19 regulations, with stricter measures increasing disadvantages. Inequalities were further exacerbated when lost resources could not be compensated by alternative strategies. Discussion & Conclusion: Findings indicate that the pandemic shaped not only the timing and extent of interventions but also the profiles of those reached or overlooked by the system. This underscores the risk of systemic blind spots and the need for integrated approaches to monitoring and addressing vulnerabilities. The triangulation of CP administrative data and service users' perspectives enables structural trends to be linked to subjective experiences and highlights the complexity and multidimensionality of Covid-19 as a social phenomenon. | |