Cultural Factors in Decision-making About Child Physical Abuse: Identifying Reporter Characteristics Influencing Reporting Tendencies

• NCJ Number: 216995
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 1365-1379
• Author(s): Elizabeth S. Ibanez; Joaquin Borrego Jr.; Joy R. Pemberton; Sherri Terao
• Date Published: December 2006
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study identified cultural factors, such as ethnicity and acceptance of corporal punishment for children, that may influence whether or not a person reports child physical abuse.

Abstract

African-American participants with a strong sense of ethnic identity were less likely than other participants (Caucasians and Hispanics) to decide to report child physical abuse to the authorities for those study vignettes that portrayed the physical abuse of African-American children; however, they were more likely to report physical abuse when the child victim was Caucasian or Hispanic. As predicted, respondents with greater acceptance of corporal punishment (e.g., spanking is acceptable punishment) were less likely to report physical abuse of a child of their same ethnicity. The acceptance of corporal punishment by African-American participants influenced the underreporting of physical abuse for children from racial and ethnic backgrounds different from their own. Corporal-punishment acceptability was not a significant mediator between ethnicity and reporting tendencies for Hispanic respondents, suggesting that although Hispanics and African-Americans are members of racial and ethnic minority groups in America, they do not have similar attitudes toward corporal punishment. Examining ethnic differences regarding the acceptability of various parenting practices is an important aspect of addressing the causes of child physical abuse and its underreporting. Study participants were 378 undergraduate students (153 males) at a southwestern university. Fifty-three percent of the sample was Caucasian, 28 percent Hispanic, and 19 percent African-American. Based on exposure to 12 vignettes that depicted the parents' use of physical punishment of a child, respondents indicated whether or not they would report parents' actions as physical abuse. The ethnicity of parents and children were indicated in the vignettes. A questionnaire on parenting discipline practices was used to assess respondents' attitudes toward various discipline practices. 3 tables and 32 references