CHAPEL HILL -- A new study of children at risk of abuse or neglect shows that what scholars term social support or "social capital" -- what most folks call family, neighbors and community -- can go a long way toward protecting children, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pediatrician.
"The bottom line is that the old African saying, 'It take a village to raise a child,' is true," said Dr. Desmond Runyan, professor of social and administrative medicine at the UNC-CH School of Medicine. "We found that the more social supports surround a child, even in imperfect circumstances, the less likely he or she is to have trouble with emotional, behavioral or developmental problems."
Runyan is principal investigator for a continuing 20-year study of abused and neglected children known as LONGSCAN. A report on the findings, which involved 667 children enrolled at the beginning of the LONGSCAN project, appears Tuesday (Jan. 6) in Pediatrics, a professional journal.
The new work was a cross-sectional analysis of subjects aged 2 to 5 reported to be 'doing well' or 'not doing well' initially in four coordinated long-term studies. Originally, investigators recruited the youngsters because they were considered at risk through poverty or other family problems.
Researchers created a support scale -- a way of measuring support -- by assigning points to the following conditions: two parents or parent figures at home, help available for the mother, a maximum of two children at home, neighborhood support and regular church attendance. They then compared scores each child received on the scale with their results on standard, widely used tests of behavioral, emotional and developmental difficulties.
Overall, only 13 percent of the youngsters were classified as doing well. Analysis showed clear correlations between church membership, perception of personal support and neighborhood support. The presence of any 'social capital' indicator increased the odds of doing well by 29 percent and adding any two increased the odds of doing well by 66 percent.
"Going to church may be particularly important because it is one of the few kinds of social networks that people have that typically involves both the child and the adult in the same network," Runyan said. "Because both kids and adults are participating, church is relatively unique. It also is the largest, most common social network in the country."
Researchers also found elements of "social capital" somewhat interchangeable, the physician said. Not every family can have two parents, for example, or only two children, but other elements such as supportive neighbors or community efforts can help make up the difference.
To him, the findings show huge housing projects and huge schools are poor ideas, Runyan said. The best neighborhoods and schools, for example, are ones where people know and look out for one another and their children. No one should be left to feel anonymous and disconnected.
Declining membership in various social, service and sports organizations such as scouting and bowling leagues -- due in part to both parents working -- reflect a national and troubling decline in valuable social support networks, he said.
"Our findings suggest that those interested in the healthy development of children, particularly children most at risk for poor developmental outcomes, must search for new and creative ways of supporting interpersonal relationships and strengthening the communities in which families carry out the daily activities of their lives," Runyan said.
Co-authors of the new paper at UNC-CH are Wanda M. Hunter, Dr. Rebecca R.S. Socolar, Dr. Dorothy H. Browne, Dr. Shrikant I. Bangdiwala and Ravi M. Mathew of the schools of medicine and public health. Other faculty at Duke University, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, San Diego State University and the University of Maryland also participated in the study.
Note: Runyan can be reached at (919) 962-1136 (w) or 933-0585 (h)
Contacts: David Williamson, Brett Johnson
Journal
PEDIATRICS