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© British Association of Social Workers
Neighbourhoods, Networks and Child Abuse
Tony Vinson BA, Dip.Soc.Stud. (Syd), MA Ph.D. Dip.Soc. (UNSW). Previously founda tion Professor of Behavioural Science in Medicine, University of Newcastle, NSW and currently Professor of Social Work, University of New South Wales
Eileen Baldry BA, Dip.Ed. (Syd), MWP, Ph.D. (UNSW), has participated in and researched social and community action and is presently a Lecturer, School of Social Work, University of NSW
Jane Hargreaves BA (Macq.) B.Soc.St. (Syd), has worked for the London Borough of Hackney Social Services Department as a social and neighbourhood community worker and is currently a Research Officer in the School of Social Work, University of NSW
Correspondence to Tony Vinson, The University of New South Wales, P O Box 1, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia 2033
Summary
The ecological framework for the study of child abuse is briefly described and the present stud—of two adjoining economically depressed localities with contrasting rates of child abuse—is theoretically located within the framework. The study focuses on the neighbourhood as a potential source of support for families, the study design emphasizing the character of the neighbourhoods as social entities. The social character and reported child abuse histories of the two study neighbourhoods in Western Sydney, Australia, are presented, and the research instruments and procedures used in a household survey, are described. Demographic data, parents'/carers' ratings of (i) the social environment, (ii) the locality as a place to raise children, (iii) transport and communication patterns, together with membership of nine sub-networks of each carer's support network, are analysed. The one outstanding difference between the two localities was found to be the structure of the networks of the two samples of residents. In the area with a higher rate of abuse there was a relative lack of connection between more immediate (familial) and more distant parts of the social networks, a finding which parallels the results of several earlier studies of clinical and non-clinical populations.
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