Child Maltreatment and School Performance Declines: An Event-History Analysis

Abstract

This article presents a longitudinal analysis of school performance declines among abused and neglected children. The analysis is based on the maltreatment and school histories of a large random sample of maltreated children from one North Carolina county. The analysis finds a significant relationship between maltreatment and declines in a diverse set of school outcomes, including falling grades, increasing absenteeism, worsening elementary school deportment, retention in grade, and involvement in special education programs. Early onset and recent maltreatment each are related to these school performance declines. Differences in the relationships of abuse and neglect to school performance declines and the importance of accumulated maltreatment are unclear.