ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand child welfare investigations that involve child custody disputes in Ontario, Canada. Methods: The study used data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect. The OIS is a cyclical, cross sectional provincial child welfare study conducted every five years. Characteristics of investigations involving child custody disputes were examined by conducting chi-square tests on key variables, and a logistic regression was performed to examine the influence of child custody disputes on transfers to ongoing services. Findings: In 2013 approximately 12% of child welfare investigations involved a child custody dispute. These investigations were predominantly referred by a custodial parent, and the primary maltreatment concern was exposure to emotional violence. Investigations involving custody disputes when controlling for all other predictors of maltreatment, were less likely to be transferred to ongoing child welfare services. Implications: There is a complicated relationship between child custody disputes and investigations involving intimate partner violence. Policy and practice implications are discussed.

摘要

目的：本文的目的是了解加拿大安大略省涉及儿童监护权纠纷的儿童福利调查。方法：该研究使用了安大略省报告的虐待和忽视儿童发生率研究的数据。OIS 是一项周期性的、横断面的省级儿童福利研究，每五年进行一次。通过对关键变量进行卡方检验来检验涉及儿童监护权纠纷的调查特征，并进行逻辑回归以检查儿童监护权纠纷对转移到持续服务的影响。调查结果：2013 年，大约 12% 的儿童福利调查涉及儿童监护权纠纷。这些调查主要由监护父母转介，主要的虐待问题是暴露于情感暴力。在控制所有其他虐待预测因素时，涉及监护权纠纷的调查不太可能转移到正在进行的儿童福利服务中。影响：儿童监护权纠纷与涉及亲密伴侣暴力的调查之间存在复杂的关系。讨论了政策和实践的影响。