Child physical abuse: prevalence, characteristics, predictors, and beliefs about parent-child violence in South Asian, Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Latina women in the United States.
Author: Maker AH, Shah PV, Agha Z.
Source:
Journal of interpersonal violence, 20(11), 1406-1428.
The present study examined the prevalence, characteristics, beliefs, and
demographic predictors of parent-child physical violence among South Asian,
Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Latina women in the United States. Two hundred
fifty-one college-educated women from a middle to high SES (South Asian/Middle
Eastern, n = 93; East Asian,n = 72; Latina,n = 86) completed a self-report survey
on childhood experiences and beliefs regarding physical abuse. Seventy-three
percent of the South Asian and Middle Eastern sample, 65% of the East Asian
sample, and 78% of the Latina sample reported experiencing at least one type of
physical abuse. Significant differences in characteristics and perpetrators of
abuse were found across groups. Demographic factors did not predict physical
abuse. Experiencing physical abuse was the only predictor for acceptance of
physical discipline and as a parental privilege or right across groups.
Implications of alternate cultural models of family violence based on beliefs and
exposure to violence are discussed.
Publication Types:
Comparative Study