A birth cohort study of Asian and Pacific Islander children reported for abuse or neglect by maternal nativity and ethnic origin

Abstract

Research identifying racial and ethnic disparities in child protective services (CPS) involvement in the U.S. has focused on the overrepresentation of Black children and the growing Latino child population. Little attention has been paid to children of Asian origin, the most underrepresented group of children in the U.S. CPS system. The objective of this analysis was to examine subgroup patterns of CPS involvement in California for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) children prospectively based on maternal nativity and ethnic origin. We extracted data for API children born in California in 2006 and 2007 (N = 138,858) from population-based birth records and linked those records to CPS records spanning the first 5 years of life (through 2012). We assessed distributional differences in risk indicators for the full birth cohort of API children and calculated a summary risk variable representing the cumulative number of risks present at birth. Generalized linear models were used to estimate API children’s adjusted relative risk of CPS report by subgroup. Overall, 12.2% of children born in California in the 2006–2007 birth cohort were API. The majority of API children had foreign-born mothers (80.9%). Children of U.S.-born Hawaiian, Guamanian, or Samoan mothers had the highest rate, with 20.4% being reported to CPS by their 5th birthday. The lowest rates of child abuse and neglect reporting were observed among children of foreign-born Asian Indian (2.5%), Korean (2.7%), and Chinese (2.8%) mothers, compared to 5.4% of all Asian and Pacific Islander children, and 14.8% of children in general population. Findings underscore the presence of disparities in CPS involvement among API children, which has implications for health and well-being across the life course and for targeted maltreatment prevention strategies.

Child Maltreatment in Asian American and Pacific Islander Families: The Roles of Economic Hardship and Parental Aggravation

“…Child maltreatment among AAPI families remains understudied (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ; Hom, 2018 ). Although economic hardship and aggravation in parenting have been documented to lead to child maltreatment, they are not often explored as potential stressors that could lead to child maltreatment among AAPI families.…”

“…Along with the socio-demographic variables, this study included foreign-born status (Zhai & Gao, 2009 ) and family structure (Oliver et al, 2006 ) which were reported to be associated with child maltreatment. A prior study reported that fewer risks and lower CPS involvement rates were found among foreign-born mothers than US-born AAPI mothers (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ). Additionally, relatively higher levels of aggravation in parenting were found among immigrant and minority families (Yu & Singh, 2012 ).…”

“…While AAPIs are the fastest-growing population in the USA (Budman & Ruiz, 2021 ), there is a lack of research on child maltreatment in the AAPI community (Hom, 2018 ). Although AAPI families demonstrate a relatively lower prevalence of child protective services (CPS) involvement than other racial/ethnic groups, variability exists in different AAPI ethnic groups (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ). Specifically, among AAPI families of children born in California in 2006 and 2007 ( N = 138,858), Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian groups were at higher risk of reporting to CPS than other AAPI groups (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Although AAPI families demonstrate a relatively lower prevalence of child protective services (CPS) involvement than other racial/ethnic groups, variability exists in different AAPI ethnic groups (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ). Specifically, among AAPI families of children born in California in 2006 and 2007 ( N = 138,858), Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian groups were at higher risk of reporting to CPS than other AAPI groups (Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017 ). Research has indicated that AAPI children are more likely to die from physical maltreatment than White children and physical abuse was higher among AAPI families than the national average (Dakil et al, 2011 ).…”

Leveraging Administrative Data to Better Understand and Address Child Maltreatment: A Scoping Review of Data Linkage Studies

“…Risk factors for child maltreatment: A large proportion of studies examined risk factors for child maltreatment. Several studies examined associations between maltreatment and maternal and perinatal risk factors, such as maternal marital status, maternal ethnicity, maternal age, maternal education level, engagement with prenatal care, smoking or substance use during pregnancy, alcohol or substance use after pregnancy, maternal experience of domestic violence or assault in the perinatal period, and maternal mental health disorders(Austin et al, 2018;Cant et al, 2019;Cram et al, 2015;Ekéus et al, 2004;Finno-Velasquez et al, 2017;Gessner et al, 2004; M. J Green et al, 2018;Hafekost, Lawrence, O'Leary, Bower, O'Donnell, et al, 2017;Högberg et al, 2019;Johnson-Motoyama et al, 2015;. Melissa O'Donnell et al, 2015;Orr et al, 2019;Parrish et al, 2011;Parrish & Gessner, 2010;.On an individual level, child characteristics examined included birth weight/small for gestational age(Boyd et al, 2019;Hafekost, Lawrence, O'Leary, Bower, O'Donnell, et al, 2017;Högberg et al, 2019;Kalland et al, 2006;Van Horne et al, 2018), birth defects(Van Horne et al, 2015, and diagnosis of ASD(McDonnell et al, 2019), Down Syndrome (Van Horne et al, 2018, or disabilities (e.g.…”