Changing chaos: The causal role of household chaos in child maltreatment

This study is one of the first to test causal pathways to child maltreatment. Specifically, the project focuses on the role of the home environment. I will test whether household chaos causes parenting problems and child maltreatment and whether the effect of household chaos is particularly strong for individuals with high levels of sensory sensitivity. In addition, self-regulation, negative emotions, and physiological stress will be tested as mediators of the effect of household chaos on maltreatment. To test the causal association, two studies are proposed. In the first study, participants will be asked to take care of a very realistic infant simulator (that cries, makes breathing, burping, giggling, and suckling sounds) in a simulated home environment, while chaos is manipulated and infant behavior is kept constant. I will test whether increased chaos leads to more parenting problems and maltreatment of the infant simulator and whether decreased chaos diminishes parenting problems and maltreatment. The second study tests whether decreased chaos results in increased parenting quality and decreased child maltreatment in actual parents. Again, the moderating role of sensory sensitivity will be investigated. A group of high-risk parents will receive an intervention aimed at decreasing chaos. The intervention consists of four weekly coaching sessions for the mother, aimed at increasing order in the household (noise, material, organizational). In addition, participants will receive text messages and cards with reminders and tips. The results of this study will contribute to improved (preventive) interventions aimed at reducing child maltreatment. Finally, by incorporating an experimental research design in the field of child maltreatment, I aim to initiate a new research tradition to unravel causal processes of child maltreatment and increase our understanding of this poorly understood problem.