Child Maltreatment in Western China: Ethnic Disparities, Poverty-related Adversity and Policy Deficiency

Abstract

This study explores ethnic disparities in the prevalence, severity, and risk factors of child maltreatment in the home setting. Through multistage cluster sampling, we conducted an empirical survey of 2474 girls in Western China. The effective response rate was 93.7%. There are three major findings from this study. First, Chinese ethnic minority children face a higher risk of more prevalent or more severe child maltreatment than Han children. Second, ethnic desegregation appears to have a positive impact on reducing ethnic heterogeneity in child maltreatment. Third, ethnic disparities exist in the risk factors of child maltreatment, and ethnic desegregation can partly mitigate the ethnic differences in the risk factors of maltreatment. The results of this study indicate that there are visible ethnic disparities in child maltreatment in Western China. Ethnic heterogeneity is mainly caused by poverty-related adversity and residual child welfare policies in China. Ethnic desegregation may partly mitigate ethnic disparities, but it can effectively work only if similar life styles are shared among different ethnic groups. Multiethnic developing countries, such as China, should investigate the positive role of ethnic desegregation in countering child maltreatment, reduce the impact of poverty-related adversity on ethnic minority families, and popularize high-quality child welfare services in multiethnic areas.