Factors associated with the recurrence of abuse in children reintegrated into the home after having been taken in a child protection center

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to determine what factors are associated with the recurrence of abuse in children reinserted into the home after having been welcomed in a child protection center. To this end, children belonging to a CAI Children's Shelter Center (Fundación Hogar para Todos) in Azogues canton, Ecuador, were studied under the protection measures communicated by a judge, and who, in 2016, were reinserted into their homes afterwards, the number of randomly selected children was out of a total of 50 minors. They were personally visited with a psychologist and a social worker to find out their situation after three years of being reinserted. A 23-item Likert-type scale was designed to assess the level of recidivism in child abuse, which, through a process of extraction of main components with exploratory factor analysis, described 51.37% of the variance with a single factor. Several factors of their situation were analyzed and it was found that the fact of considering them unhappy, witnessing parental violence from a partner, having relapsed in the foster care of minors, consuming drugs, missing school and preserving the desire for revenge for the future, are factors associated with recidivism in child abuse.