Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Maternal Maltreatment: A Population-Based Comparative Analysis

Ayda Kuluk¹, Dr Troy Allard, Professor Anna Stewart¹

¹Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, Australia

It is important to understand who maltreats their children and how they differ from those who do not maltreat their children. Much existing research in this field has had methodological limitations. We expand on the child maltreatment literature by prospectively examining a large sample of mothers (N = 18,019) born in Queensland during 1983 or 1984, and comparing several risk and protective factors for maltreating and non-maltreating mothers to age 31. Results indicated that maltreating mothers were more likely than non-maltreating mothers to have their first child at a younger age, significantly more children, less likely to be married, more likely to be Indigenous, and more likely to have experienced childhood maltreatment. Implications for policy and practice are considered.

Biography:

Ayda Kuluk is a first year PhD candidate at Griffith University and has completed her Bachelor of Psychological Science and Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Ayda is interested in understanding the risk and protective factors for female offending across the life course with a view to helping improve lives and reduce female offending.