Citation

Lau AS, Huang MM, Garland AF, McCabe KM, Yeh M, Hough RL. Child Maltreat. 2006; 11(2): 168-181.

Affiliation

University of California, Los Angeles

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559505285776

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

One thousand and ten Non-Hispanic White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific Islander youth who were high risk and receiving public sector services were interviewed regarding history of child emotional and physical abuse and current internalizing symptoms. The study examined whether race moderated the association between adolescents' reports of specific parent behaviors and their self-labeling as victims of abuse. The study also examined whether reports of parental behaviors or self-labeled abuse better predicted internalizing symptoms, and whether these associations differed by race. When reporting punitive parent behavior, Non-Hispanic White youth were more likely to describe themselves as abused compared to Asian Pacific Islanders. Reported punitive parental behaviors accounted for more variance in internalizing symptoms than did self-labeled abuse. Reports of parent behaviors were more strongly related to concurrent internalizing symptoms among ethnic minority youth than among Non-Hispanic White youth. Results are discussed in the context of cultural competence in identification of child abuse.