The relationship between child maltreatment and social assistance use: A chain of adversities and transitions from a life course perspective

This study applies the life course perspective to one of the long-term consequences of child maltreatment: specifically, the use of social assistance. While quantitative research has demonstrated a relationship between experiencing maltreatment as a child and economic hardship in adulthood, due to the complexity of these phenomena, the nature of this relationship is not well understood. This study employs the life course perspective and qualitative methods to explore participants’ experiences and perspectives on child maltreatment as they see them related to their social assistance usage. Participants included 17 individuals who had experienced child maltreatment and have accessed, or are currently accessing, social assistance in Ontario, Canada. Our grounded theory approach enabled an understanding of participants’ experiences as a chain of adversities and multiple transitions that impacted the availability of the economic and social resources required to meet challenging transitions in adulthood, thereby eventually leading to social assistance use later in life. A conceptual framework based on the findings, and areas for future research are presented.