Paternal Risks and Child Maltreatment Prevention

This research project focuses on examining fathers' individual and contextual risks of child abuse and neglect and engaging fathers in safe and positive ways to prevent child maltreatment. A new study in this area includes using data from the Building Strong Families project, which includes a large and racially diverse sample of mothers and fathers from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, to examine whether poverty and its sequelae are key risk factors of fathers' risk of maltreating their children as proposed by the Family Stress Model. Additionally related studies and publications in this area include:

Lee, J. Y., Yoon, S., Harty, J., Steinke, H., Chang, Y., Cha, H., & Xu, A. (2025). Role of fathers in the well-being of children impacted by the U.S. child welfare system: Recommendations for practice and policy from a scoping review. Child Welfare (Special Issue on “Fathers and Child Welfare: Conceptual Frameworks, Theoretical Foundations, Empirical Approaches, and Innovations in Research and Practice”), 102(5). https://community.cwla.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=25546488
Chang, Y., Chang, O. D., Stanek, C. J., Yoon, S., & Maguire-Jack, K. (2025). The protective role of school connectedness in the relationship between child maltreatment and internalizing symptoms for White, Black, Latino/Hispanic, and multiracial youth. Child Abuse & Neglect (*3.400), 163, 107399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107399
Pace, G. T., Lee, J. Y., Ward, K. P., & Chang, O. D. (2025). Exploring father-adolescent closeness: A random forest approach. Family Relations, 1-17 (*1.700). https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.13168
Gershoff, E. T., Lee, S. J., Lee, J. Y., Chang, O. D., & Taylor, C. A. (2024). Spare the dog, hit the child: Preliminary findings regarding parents’ beliefs about spanking and hitting children. Psychology of Violence (*2.800)
Yoon, S., Wang, J., Chang, Y., Lee, J. Y., Nho, C. R., Chung, I-J., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. (2024). Profiles of father involvement among unmarried Black fathers and child social-emotional functioning. Social Development, 34(1), e12785. (*2.000). https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12785
Lee, J. Y., Yoon, S., Chang, Y., Cha, H., Radney, A., Xu, A., Landers, A. L., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. (2024). Parental warmth of non-offending primary caregiving fathers rearing children in the U.S. child welfare system: Associations with children’s socioemotional development. Parenting: Science and Practice (Special Issue on “Contemporary Perspectives on Fathering and Father-Child Relationships”) (*2.300). https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2024.2425696
Shipe, S. L., Guastaferro, K., Ayer, L., Lee, J. Y., & Connell, C. M. (2024). Family structure and children's risk of child protective services re-reports. Child Abuse & Neglect, 154, 106915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106915
Anyibgo, D., Beal, S., Lee, J. Y., & Gottlieb, L. M. (2024). Addressing mental health and social needs in tandem to promote health equity. Pediatric Clinics of North America (Special Issue on “Innovative Approaches to Addressing Pediatric Mental Health in Primary Care”) (*2.100). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2024.07.018
Yoon, S., Lee, J. Y., Ploss, A., Benavides, L., & Kirsch, J. (2023). Engaging fathers in child welfare programs and services. In R. W. Denby & C. Ingram (Eds.). Child and Family-Serving Systems: A Compendium of Policy and Practice. Volume II: Approaches to Child and Family Protection: Core Opportunities and Challenges in Child- and Family-Serving Systems. Child Welfare League of America.
Maguire-Jack, K., Hardi, F., Stormer, B., Lee, J. Y., Feely, M., Klika, B., Rostad, W., Ford, D., Merrick, M., & Murphy, C. (2022). Early childhood education and care policies in the United States and their impact on family violence. Children and Youth Services Review, 144, 106653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106653
Pace, G. T., Lee, J. Y., Schneider, W., & Klika, J. B. (2022). Supporting fathers to prevent child maltreatment: How paid family leave and child care subsidies are part of a public health approach. International Journal on Child Maltreatment. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-022-00124-x
Klika, J. B., Lee, S., & Lee, J. Y. (2019). Prevention of child maltreatment. In J. B. Klika & J. R. Conte (Eds.), The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment, Fourth Edition (pp. 235-251). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.