Citation

Coohey C. Child Maltreat. 2001; 6(2): 130-142.

Affiliation

School of Social Work, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA. carol-coohey@uiowa.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16705788

Abstract

Familism, or familismo, refers to attitudes, behaviors, and family structures operating within an extended family system and is believed to be the most important factor influencing the lives of Latinos. Because of the complexity of the construct, this article begins by separating out and defining each dimension of familism, and then clarifies its relationship to the broader literature on social networks, social support, and child maltreatment. The analysis tests whether each dimension of familism is related to child maltreatment within and between 35 abusive Latino, 35 nonabusive Latino, 51 abusive Anglo, and 51 nonabusive Anglo families. Nonabusing Latinas appear to have a higher level of familism than the other three groups of mothers. However; when intraethnic comparisons were made, nonabusive Anglos, compared with abusive Anglos, had higher levels of familism on several variables. Hence, familism seems to characterize families--Latino and Anglo--who do not maltreat their children.

Language: en