Community strain and familial dysfunction: the influence of county characteristics on child maltreatment

Child maltreatment does not happen equally across communities. Instead, in some places it is nearly non-existent (less than 1 out of every 11000 children) while in others it is experienced by nearly 10% of the population. This research examined how demographic factors relate to the rate of child abuse and neglect at the county level and found that a decline in economic stability, lack of post-secondary education, an inability to reach financial stability, and the rate of drug usage in a county significantly contributed to the child maltreatment rate. Durkheim’s Theory of Anomie and Merton and Agnew’s Strain Theories were used to describe how these four community factors cause individuals to experience strain, and eventually anomie and dysfunction which can lead to familial abuse or neglect. When these four factors, which inhibit individuals to adhere to culturally defined goals and expectations, are concentrated in a community, as opposed to being experienced by a handful of families within a community in which they are not present, then social strain within the community increases, social support decreases, and child maltreatment is more prevalent