Income inequality and child welfare interventions in England and Wales

Bibliographic Data

ID11181237
AuthorsCalum Jr Webb (0000-0001-7521-2110, Sociological Studies, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, corresponding author), Paul Bywaters (0000-0002-6375-6222, University of Huddersfield), Martin Elliott (0000-0002-8062-6913, Cardiff University), Jonathan Scourfield (0000-0001-6218-8158, Cardiff University)
Year2021
Volume75
Issue3
Pages251-257
Publication date2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-005X • E-ISSN: 1470-2738
PublisherBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/jech-2020-214501
PMID32920537
OpenAlexW3085869134
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited17

Background Previous research has identified a relationship between income inequality and child abuse and neglect in the USA. This association has received limited exploration outside the USA. Methods Administrative data on child protection (CP) in 172 English and Welsh local authorities between 2013 and 2018 were combined with data on deprivation, ethnic density and education from publicly available data sources. Commercial income data were used for Gini coefficient estimation. We tested whether similar evidence for three key findings from a US study could be found in England and Wales. These included whether there was evidence of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment, whether this relationship was non-linear and whether this relationship varied dependent on the level of poverty. Results There was a significant non-linear relationship between income inequality and state care rates in England and Wales. Predicted state care rates were higher as income inequality increased, up until around average levels where the effect flattens. However, there was no significant relationship for models predicting CP plan/register rates. Income inequality, income deprivation, ethnic density and higher education were able to explain around 75% of the variance in English and Welsh state care rates. Conclusions There is some evidence to support the claim of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment beyond the USA in England and Wales, and a case for further comparative research, but there are significant limitations in the comparability of data

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economic inequality · Economics · Ethnic group · Geography · Gini coefficient · Income distribution · Inequality · Neglect · Political science · Poverty · Psychological intervention · Sociology · Welsh · Child Abuse and Trauma · Demography · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Law · Medicine