Community Informant Explanations of Immigration and Cultural Dynamics with Unusual Rates of Child Maltreatment Reports

Background and Purpose: Approximately three million child maltreatment reports of child abuse and neglect occur each year, presenting significant social welfare problems. Of these reports, an estimated 8.6% represent children with caregivers who are immigrants. Although in recent years the field has developed knowledge on immigrant characteristics associated with risk and protection from child maltreatment, almost nothing is known about characteristics of immigrant communities as they relate to child maltreatment. Factors related to the social dynamics of immigrant-concentrated neighborhoods, such as household structure, immigrant enclaves, and eligibility and access to services, warrant independent examination in their relationship to child maltreatment. Drawing from social disorganization theory, this study elicited perceptions of key community informants to further understanding of the dynamics of highly concentrated immigrant communities and their influence on maltreatment.

Methods: In Los Angeles and San Diego counties, neighborhoods with high immigrant concentrations were selected that had atypical rates of maltreatment reports (either very high or very low), after accounting for population demographic characteristics. A purposive snowball sampling strategy was then used to identify social services professionals and other community members with in-depth knowledge of selected neighborhoods. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in person with 28 key informants. Interviews enabled participants to discuss immigration and culture-related dynamics in neighborhoods they believed contributed to unusual maltreatment reporting rates in a specific neighborhood area familiar to them. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Core themes in the data were identified through content analysis using NVivo 10.

Findings: Key informants discussed potential immigration-related reasons why higher or lower rates of maltreatment reports are consistently observed in some geographical areas with otherwise relatively similar population characteristics. Analyses led to identification of four broad themes surrounding immigration and culture that relate to the occurrence and reporting of maltreatment. The four overarching themes are: (a) cultural norms and values; (b) fear/mistrust; (c) lack of knowledge; and (d) community resources/supports. Each theme is described and discussed in the context of its occurrence within areas with unusually high versus unusually low reporting rates.

Conclusions and Implications: This research addresses perceptions of neighborhood processes within immigrant communities that are deemed geographic “hot spots” of child abuse and neglect. Findings provide knowledge of the socio-cultural dynamics around child maltreatment of neighborhoods with high immigrant concentrations. A deeper understanding of immigrant and cultural dynamics within neighborhoods and their potential influence on child maltreatment and reporting behaviors are discussed. Suggestions for neighborhood-level interventions in densely populated immigrant areas are presented.