“911” among West African immigrants in New York City: A qualitative study of parents' disciplinary practices and their perceptions of child welfare authorities

Abstract

Immigrant parents’ perceptions of child protective services may have important implications for their engagement in public institutions that are central to their children’s well being. The current study examined West African immigrants’ perceptions of child welfare authorities and the role of disciplining and monitoring in these communities’ meaning making. A multiethnic group of 59 West African immigrants (32 parents and 27 adolescent children) living in the United States were interviewed in 18 focus groups and eight individual interviews between December 2009 and July 2010. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach; strategies for rigor included triangulation (multiple interview formats, varied composition of groups, multiple coders for each transcript), verification (follow-up interviewing, feedback to community-based organizations), and auditability. Primary among parents’ concerns were “911” (used to refer to the police and child protective authorities), the loss of collective child monitoring networks, and threats to their children posed by “American” values and neighborhood violence. Children were concerned with parents’ close monitoring that resulted in boredom and a sense that parents did not recognize them for adhering to their families’ values. Feedback from CBOs suggested that parents got their information about child protective policies from children but that although misinformed they were accurate in their negative assessment of contact. Not unlike in other urban populations, West African immigrants’ disciplinary tactics are instrumental, oriented towards protecting their children from the multiple dangers perceived in their surroundings, but may also put them at risk for contact with child protective services. Results suggest that “911” results from a “loss spiral” (Hobfoll, 1989) that begins as West Africans resettle without collective child monitoring networks, leading to increased concern for their children’s safety, and interacting with a school-home disciplinary mismatch that may increase the likelihood of contact with child protection. Hobfoll, S. (1989). Conservation of resources theory: A new attempt and conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.

Does procedural justice influence general satisfaction with police? A study from a hard-to-reach population of immigrants in the United States

“…Compared to Caribbean and Latin American Blacks, African immigrants have been immigrating to the United States at a much higher rate, accounting for as much as one-fifth of the US Black population between 2001 and 2006 (Unnever and Gabbidon 2013; see also Benson 2006;Kent 2007). Notably, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are moving to the United States at a much higher rate than migrants from other parts of the world (Rasmussen et al 2012; see also Kent 2007;Thomas 2011). This rapid increase in the sub-Saharan African population in the United States means that these immigrants' views of the police would become increasingly important to police agencies and police leaders.…”

Made in America: Perspectives on Friendship in West African Immigrant Families

“…Focus groups and individual interviews possess specific attributes that elicit greater disclosure of information. We chose focus group interviews as the primary method of data collection for this study because a number of researchers and clinicians have documented the significance of group discussion and oral traditions within many African societies (AkinsulureSmith 2012; Akinsulure- Smith et al 2009;Smith 2003), based on the fact that the group modality can elicit shared emotional and psychological information (Rasmussen et al 2012), and based on research suggesting that African cultures are primarily collectivistic (Eaton and Louw 2000;Triandis 1989). Individual interviews were used for sharing more private and sensitive experiences.…”

“…West African migration experiences have been documented outside the US, including recommendations for social workers dealing with African immigrants in Britain (Okitikpi and Aymer 2003), and interventions related to family functioning among Africans in Australia . Similarly, the studies of West African immigrant families within the US context that do exist have focused largely on family conflict (Bledsoe and Sow 2011;Coe 2008Coe , 2011aRasmussen et al 2012;Yenika-Agbaw 2009), children's health outcomes (Vaughn and Holloway 2010), and acculturation stressors (Obiakor and Afoláyan 2007). Much of this research on West African immigrant families has been explored from the perspective of parents and primary caretakers.…”

“…Much of this research on West African immigrant families has been explored from the perspective of parents and primary caretakers. For example, scholars have explored parental disciplinary practices such as sending children back to Africa (Bledsoe and Sow 2011) and parental perceptions of child welfare organizations (Rasmussen et al 2012). …”

The concept of a child within sub‐Saharan African migrant homes: Reconciling culture and child rights

“…Definitions of child and childhood experiences are continuously changing (Boakye‐Boaten, ; Ndofirepi & Shumba, ) as ongoing debates on the subject of children have become an international issue. Debates on the subject of children have been heightened due to increased migration and subsequent socio‐cultural and political contexts in which migrant families settle (Rasmussen, Akinsulure‐Smith, Chu, & Keatley, ). Global definitions around the concept of a child are influencing traditional values and beliefs within indigenous societies and modifying established structures that are the foundation of being and identity (Jenkins, ).…”