An exploration of the socio-cultural context in immigrant-concentrated neighborhoods with unusual rates of child maltreatment

ABSTRACT

Despite the field’s understanding of individual and family level predictors of child maltreatment, research on neighborhood indicators of child abuse and neglect, especially in immigrant communities, is limited. This study employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews to elicit perceptions of 28 key community informants to further understand the social dynamics of highly concentrated immigrant communities and their influence on child maltreatment. Thematic content analysis used coding consensus, co-occurrence, and comparison to analyze results. Findings suggest maltreatment reporting and behaviors may be related to three themes concerning the socio-cultural context of immigrant communities. Themes are cultural norms and values, fear and mistrust, and lack of knowledge and misinformation. Suggestions for neighborhood-level interventions in immigrant communities are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Child maltreatment
• immigrants
• neighborhoods
• socio-cultural context
• maltreatment reports

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families and the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services award number #90CA1820-01-00.