Child neglect may have as harmful an impact on development as child abuse, according to a report issued in the current edition of Pediatrics.
More than 1300 children were monitored for the study. All were known to have suffered previous maltreatment or to be at risk. Primary caregivers were interviewed when the child was age 4, 6 and 8.
Results showed that children who were neglected in the first two years of life showed increased levels of aggression, defined as arguing, disobedience, cruel behavior, destruction of property, threatening, fighting, or engaging in physical attacks, at ages 4 and 8 and proved to be a stronger predictor of later aggression than early abuse or later neglect or abuse.
ABSTRACT: Importance of Early Neglect for Childhood Aggression