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Child Maltreatment Among US East Coast Migrant Farm Workers

NCJ Number
106044
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (1987) Pages: 281-291
Author(s)
O W Larson; J Doris; W F Alvarez
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Scientists report findings from a study conducted in 1983 to determine the incidence and patterns of child mistreatment among migrant farm worker families in the Atlantic coastal region known as the Eastern Stream.
Abstract
A multipurpose mailed questionnaire was administered to a sample of 2,207 migrant educators from 14 of the 22 Eastern Stream States. The survey considered 13 different indicators of child abuse and neglect and 6 maltreatment forms. Respondents reported on the migrant population with which they each had direct contact so that an incidence rate could be formulated. The study shows that the incidence of child maltreatment rate among migrant farm workers as perceived by migrant educators is substantially higher than the rate in the population as a whole or even for families in approximately the same socioeconomic status. The final maltreatment incidence rate is 110.6 children per thousand, 10 times the rate for the United States population. Children from interstate families apparently have the lowest risk of being maltreated. 7 tables and 19 references. (Author abstract modified)