“Care About us First”: Israeli Youths’ Perspectives on Child Neglect

Child neglect is considered the most common form of child maltreatment with severe implications for children’s development. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of scholarly literature examining child neglect, possibly stemming from a lack of consistent definition. The current qualitative study addresses this gap by aiming to understand the phenomena of child neglect from the direct perspective of youth from the general population, a perspective that has so far barely been considered. Data were collected by 10 focus groups conducted among multicultural youth aged 12 to 15 years in the north of Israel. The qualitative-thematic analysis generated three main themes, each including several subthemes: (a) experience of neglectful behavior (lack of parental care, lack of parental priority, dynamics of blaming the child, rejection, and relinquishment of the child); (b) instrumental characteristics of neglect (lack of material and financial investment in the child, expressions of neglect in providing food and nutrition, poor appearance and hygiene of the child and home); (c) lack of parental involvement (lack of parental guidance, lack of communication and availability, lack of presence in the child’s life). The perspectives of the Israeli youth resembled existing conceptualizations of child neglect. The youth also added a new dimension to the conceptualizations in their focus on the emotional context involved in the range of neglectful behaviors they described. This new conceptualization of child neglect is discussed together with some suggestions for how it can inform better professional practice.