Is elevated risk of child maltreatment in immigrant families associated with socioeconomic status? Evidence from three sources

Abstract

In this study we tested whether children from Dutch-immigrant families are at increased risk for maltreatment, and if so, what factors could explain this risk. Three data sources from the second Netherlands Prevalence Study of Maltreatment of Youth (NPM-2010) were used to answer these questions. First, 1127 professionals from various occupational branches (sentinels) were asked to report each child (including some background information on the child and family) for whom they suspected child maltreatment during a period of three months. Second, we included the 2010 data from the Dutch Child Protective Services and third, 1759 high school students aged 11-17 years filled out a questionnaire on their experiences of maltreatment in the past year. We found that children from traditional immigrant families with a relatively long migration history in the Netherlands (Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Antillean) and from nontraditional immigrant families (African [except Morocco], Eastern European, Central Asian, and South and Central American; often refugees) were at increased risk for child maltreatment compared to native Dutch families. However, in the professionals' and CPS data this risk disappeared for the traditional immigrant families after correction for educational level of the parents and for step-parenthood. Within the group of families with low education or step-parents, the risk for child maltreatment was similar for traditional immigrant families as for native Dutch families. Nontraditional families remained at increased risk after correction for sociodemographic and family factors. In conclusion, we found that children from both traditional and nontraditional immigrant families are at increased risk for maltreatment as compared to children from native Dutch families. For the traditional immigrants this risk could partially be explained by socioeconomic status. This implies that socioeconomic factors should be taken into account when outlining policies to fight child maltreatment.

Review of child maltreatment in immigrant and refugee families

“…22,29,30 Of the 18 studies, 11 explored associations between country of origin and type of maltreatment (see Table 3 for details of these studies' results). The results generally show that children of immigrant families are most frequently reported for physical abuse 11,15,18,20,21,26,31,32 and to a lesser extent for physical neglect, 11,14 emotional/educational neglect 11,20 and sexual abuse 16,17,26 or to experience emotional abuse. 20,26 The authors explain that the higher rates of emotional abuse may be due to different parental practices and expectations regarding child rearing 16,32 or to the occurrence of intimate partner violence as reported by studies involving families of Mexican 26 and Korean origin.…”

“…Two studies conducted in the Netherlands found that immigrant children were overrepresented within CPS as compared with the general population. 11,20 On the other hand, three studies in the US, using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being, showed that immigrant children (all nationalities confounded 16 and Hispanic immigrant children 17,18 ) were underrepresented in CPS as compared with their size in the US population. [16][17][18] Within the large Asian group, one study conducted in Los Angeles found that Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, Pacific Islanders and Samoan immigrant families were over-represented in CPS while Filipinos, Hmong and Korean were under-represented.…”

“…The parents' immigration status, namely refugee or undocumented status, emerges as a consistent risk factor for child maltreatment, 11,19,20 probably because of the resultant high levels of stress and the fear of being separated from the children and family. 16,22 On the other hand, Dettlaff and colleagues highlight that having an undocumented status can be a deterrent for parents and reduce the risk of abuse, given the possible consequences, including deportation and hence the separation of family members.…”

“…High family stress is the most frequently reported risk factor for child maltreatment among immigrant and non-immigrant families alike. [16][17][18]22 Other microsystemic risk factors found among immigrant families involved with CPS included living in a step-parenthood family 11 or a single-parent family; 11,20 living in a family with a low to very low educational level; 11,20 belonging to large families; 20,26 and witnessing or having witnessed domestic violence against the caregiver.…”

Migration, vulnerability and the complexity of violence: Experiences of documented non-EU migrants in Slovakia

“…This means that even within the relatively small cohort of the non-EU documented migrant population in Slovakia, a majority of migrants need to be seen as at risk. These considerations might be even more pressing in other contexts with larger numbers of vulnerable migrants, and those with forms of violence occuring that we did not evidence in our research (such as widely prevalent gender-based sexual violence against migrants, see Keygnaert et al 2012), or we did not focus on in the research itself (such as abuse of migrant children, see Alink et al, 2013) or this paper in particular (such as domestic violence). The findings suggest not to underestimate the diversity of forms and consequences of violence against migrants or to generalise individual experiences.…”