Social networks, informal child care, and inadequate supervision by mothers.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether less informal child care support from family and friends is related to supervisory neglect and, if there is a relationship, to test several explanations for why some mothers receive less child care. Thirty-two low-income mothers who did not adequately supervise their children were matched to 32 mothers who provided adequate supervision. The results showed the mothers who provided inadequate supervision received less child care support from their partners and relatives, but not their friends. These differences appear to be linked to several properties of the mothers' social networks. For example, the majority of the mothers who provided inadequate supervision either did not have a partner or knew them for less than one year. They had fewer family members living nearby and more negative relationships with them than the mothers who provided adequate supervision. To reduce chronic supervisory neglect, mothers may need assistance with both informal and formal child care support. The most frequently occurring supervision problem involves a parent not watching a child closely enough at home, followed by leaving a child home alone and leaving a child with an inappropriate caregiver. When all types of supervisory neglect are combined into a single category, these problems occur more frequently than either physical abuse or sexual abuse (Coohey, 2003a). The most visible negative outcome of supervisory neglect is a nonfatal or fatal injury (Coohey, 2003b). Children left alone are also more likely than supervised children to develop behavior problems, be angry, take more risks, and have poorer social skills and academic performance (Colwell, Pettit, Meece, Bates, &, Dodge, 2001; Dwyer, et al., 1990; Marshall, Coll, Marx, McCartney, Keefe, & Ruh, 1997; Pettit, Laird, Bates, & Dodge, 1997; Posner & Vandell, 1994; Vandell & Rananan, 1991). While there is an emerging literature on children who are left alone, we know very little about the consequences of parents who are proximate to their young children but do not watch them closely enough or leave them with inadequate caregivers. Inappropriate caregivers fall into two categories: those who are not abusive and those who are abusive. The first category includes leaving a child with a person who is too young, uses alcohol or drugs, has a mental health problem, is inattentive, or is inappropriate (for example, a stranger). The second category includes exposing a child to a person who abuses children or a batterer. The behavioral and emotional consequences of exposing children to child abusers and batterers have been studied with mixed results. Despite the fact that some children appear to suffer minimal effects from being exposed to violence, it is also clear that many children develop severe psychosocial problems as a result of violent exposure (Rudo, Powell & Dunlap, 1998; Trickett & McBride-Chang, 1995). To prevent the negative outcomes associated with supervision problems, it would be useful to know why they occur. Unfortunately, the literature on the etiology of supervisory neglect is even less developed than the literature on the consequences of supervisory neglect. To date, only four studies have focused on factors related to supervision problems. Coohey (1998, 2004) and Hixon (1992) found that mothers who provided inadequate supervision were more likely than mothers who provided adequate supervision to have a mental health challenge, a problem with drugs or alcohol, or poor problem-solving skills. In Jones' 1987 study on supervisory neglect, caseworkers concluded that the majority of mothers who provided inadequate supervision exercised poor judgment when it came to making decisions about the care of their children. While these findings provide a partial explanation for poor supervision, the larger context in which the mother parents may also help explain why she does not keep a close enough eye on her children or leaves them alone or with an inappropriate caregiver. …