Abstract
Traditional approaches to examining neighborhood-level ecological effects on risk of child maltreatment have primarily focused on residential neighborhoods (i.e., the risks and resources families encounter within the neighborhoods in which the live). These methods typically involve linkage of geocoded home address coordinates to identify geographic areas (e.g., zip code or census tracts) with child welfare administrative data sources, permitting integration of geographic data from other sources to reflect residential characteristics. More recent developments in the field are pushing boundaries on understanding environmental influences on risk of child maltreatment. Among these are the incorporation of “activity spaces” reflecting a broader understanding of individual mobility across a variety of environments (e.g., work, recreation, school, etc.) and incorporate a broader array of types of information including exposure to risks and resources, as well as social interactions that may occur in such spaces. Child maltreatment researchers may utilize survey methods, GPS-enabled devices, and other linked data sources to create activity spaces and identify a range of different indicators derived from these contexts. Researchers must be aware of potential limitations to geographic data included in administrative data sources, but these methods can provide a wealth of information relevant to risks of child maltreatment or child welfare system outcomes.
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Acknowledgments
This project was supported by grant number P60-AA-006282 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or the National Institutes of Health.
A version of this chapter was presented by the first author at the Strengthening Child Safety and Wellbeing through Integrated Data Solutions Conference in Pennsylvania State University on September 27, 2018.
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Freisthler, B., Kepple, N.J., Price Wolf, J. (2023). Going Beyond Where You Live: Innovative Uses for Spatial Data Using Linked Child Welfare Datasets. In: Connell, C.M., Crowley, D.M. (eds) Strengthening Child Safety and Well-Being Through Integrated Data Solutions. Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36608-6_4
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