Race and Ethnic Differences in Early Childhood Maltreatment in the United States
Race and Ethnic Differences in Early Childhood Maltreatment in the United States
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DOI：
10.1097/dbp.0000000000000083
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发表时间：
2014-09-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Hubel, Grace
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lanier, Paul;Maguire-Jack, Katie;Hubel, Grace
目标：2012年，美国有600多万儿童被转介到儿童保护服务机构。在因虐待和忽视儿童而接受调查的儿童中，黑人儿童的比例过高。了解为什么黑人儿童受到不成比例的虐待，对于提供政策和实践解决方案至关重要。两种相互竞争的理论将失衡归因于种族偏见或集中的风险因素。虽然之前的工作侧重于国家数据，但这项研究审查了风险因素与州一级虐待之间的关系，重点是幼儿的结果。方法：我们在白人、黑人和西班牙裔儿童(0-3岁)中考察了儿童早期贫困和虐待受害者之间的关系。使用州一级的数据(N=48)，我们确定了虐待儿童的不成比例结果的比率以及与贫困和其他风险因素的关联。结果：对州级数据的研究结果显示，与白人儿童相比，生活在贫困中的黑人和西班牙裔儿童的比例更不平衡。这种不平衡与虐待比率的更大不相称有关。结果还表明，虐待比率的不成比例与国家在黑人和西班牙裔未婚母亲和十几岁母亲的比率不成比例有关。结论：暴露在贫困等风险之下是导致少数群体在儿童福利体系中比例过高的一个重要因素。减少虐待的有效战略必须包括减少贫困和支持年轻的高危母亲的战略。
Objective: In the United States, over 6 million children were referred to child protective services in 2012. Black children are overrepresented among children investigated for child abuse and neglect. Understanding why black children are disproportionately reported for maltreatment is critical to informing policy and practice solutions. Two competing theories attribute disproportionality to either racial bias or concentrated risk factors. Although prior work has focused on national data, this study examines the relationship between risk factors and maltreatment at the state level, focusing on outcomes for young children. Method: We examine the relationship between early childhood poverty and maltreatment victimization across white, black, and Hispanic children (0-3 years). Using state-level data (N = 48), we determine ratios of disproportionate outcomes in child maltreatment and associations to poverty and other risk factors. Results: Study findings for state-level data show greater disproportionality of black and Hispanic children living in poverty relative to their white counterparts. This imbalance is associated with greater disproportionality in maltreatment rates. Results also indicate that disproportionality of maltreatment rates was associated with state disproportionality in rates of unmarried and teenage mothers for blacks and Hispanics. Conclusion: Exposure to risks such as poverty is an important factor driving the overrepresentation of minority groups in the child welfare system. Effective strategies for reducing maltreatment must include strategies for reducing poverty and supporting young at-risk mothers.