Child maltreatment among U.S. East Coast migrant farm workers

Abstract

This paper reports findings from a study that was conducted in 1983 to determine the incidence and patterns of child maltreatment among migrant farm worker families who reside in or travel through the Atlantic coastal region known as the Eastern Stream. These results are based on responses to a multipurpose mailed questionnaire that was administered to a sample of 2,207 migrant educators. Educational personnel from 14 of the 22 Eastern Stream states participated in this survey, which was designed to elicit information on the incidence of maltreatment in this population. The survey considered 13 different indicators of child abuse and neglect and six maltreatment forms. Another segment of the instrumentation secured information on the migrant population with which the respondents had direct contact so that an incidence rate could be formulated. The study conclusively established that the incidence of child maltreatment rate among migrant farm worker families, as perceived by migrant educators, was substantially higher than the rate observed for the population as a whole or even for families with approximately the same socioeconomic status. Comparative data are presented to place this primary research result in perspective and a more precise overall incidence estimate is derived. Differential rates of abuse and neglect within the migrant population and the factors that contribute to them are also considered.