Explaining risk factors for successful Family Supervision Orders: Families with intellectual disabilities in child protection in the Netherlands

Abstract

Families with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBID) are overrepresented in child protection, and are at higher risk for long and unsuccessful family supervision orders (FSOs). This is worrisome, as many children apparently are exposed to unsafe parenting situations for longer periods of time. Therefore, the present study examined which child and parental factors and child maltreatment are related to the duration and success of an FSO in families with MBID in the Netherlands. Casefile data were analysed of 140 children with an ended FSO. Results from binary logistic regression analyses showed that in families with MBID, young children, children with psychiatric problems, and children with MBID were at higher risk for a longer duration of FSOs. Furthermore, young children, children with MBID and children who were sexually abused had a lower chance of a successful FSO. Unexpectedly, children who witnessed domestic violence or whose parents were divorced, had a higher chance of a successful FSO. The discussion focuses on implications of these results for treatment and care of families with MBID from the perspective of child protection.