Child Abuse in Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Communities
Course #67584 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Child abuse and neglect is a serious social problem. Research indicates that a significant number of children in the United States have been victims of physical abuse. The figures show that ethnic minority children (e.g., African Americans, Native American Indians/Alaskan Natives) have higher rates of reported child abuse and neglect compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. It has been argued that health practitioners, social workers, and mental health counselors should take into account race, ethnicity, and sociocultural factors when working with child abuse and neglect cases. This course will review the historical backdrop of the child welfare system and definitions of child abuse and neglect, including variations in definitions in various cultures internationally. An overview of the role of culture in child-rearing practices, child disciplining,and perceptions and definitions of child abuse will also be provided. Assessments and interventions based on culturally relevant theories will be reviewed. Finally, the importance of practitioners' self-care in child abuse cases is emphasized.
- INTRODUCTION
- HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF CHILD WELFARE AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES
- DEFINITIONS AND TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
- AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
- CHILD ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
- CULTURE, RACE, AND ETHNICITY
- IMPACT OF CULTURE ON CHILDREARING
- CULTURE AND PERCEPTION OF CHILD ABUSE
- ECOLOGIC FACTORS
- CULTURALLY RELEVANT THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
- CHILD ABUSE ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTIONS
- PRACTITIONER STRESS WHEN WORKING WITH CHILD ABUSE CASES
- CONCLUSION
- FACULTY BIOGRAPHY
- Works Cited
This intermediate course is designed for psychologists who may intervene in suspected cases of child abuse.
The purpose of this course is to facilitate appropriate and culturally sensitive responses on the part of psychologists to cases of child abuse and neglect.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the historical emergence of child abuse and neglect.
- Identify federal policies in the United States to address child abuse and neglect.
- Define child abuse and neglect.
- Outline the international prevalence of child abuse and neglect and variations in defining child maltreatment.
- Discuss the impact of child abuse and neglect in the United States and Canada, particularly among ethnic minority groups.
- Analyze how race, ethnicity, and culture impacts ethnic minority families' parenting styles and disciplining.
- Identify the role of ecologic factors on the risk for child abuse and neglect.
- Describe cultural theoretical frameworks to guide practice.
- Discuss child abuse assessment, intervention, and training that consist of culturally sensitive best practice values.
- Identify self-care issues and practices for practitioners working with child abuse cases.
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work. She has clinical experience in mental health in correctional settings, psychiatric hospitals, and community health centers. In 1997, she received her PhD from UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. Dr. Yick Flanagan completed a year-long post-doctoral fellowship at Hunter College, School of Social Work in 1999. In that year she taught the course Research Methods and Violence Against Women to Masters degree students, as well as conducting qualitative research studies on death and dying in Chinese American families.
Previously acting as a faculty member at Capella University and Northcentral University, Dr. Yick Flanagan is currently a contributing faculty member at Walden University, School of Social Work, and a dissertation chair at Grand Canyon University, College of Doctoral Studies, working with Industrial Organizational Psychology doctoral students. She also serves as a consultant/subject matter expert for the New York City Board of Education and publishing companies for online curriculum development, developing practice MCAT questions in the area of psychology and sociology. Her research focus is on the area of culture and mental health in ethnic minority communities.
Contributing faculty, Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Margaret Donohue, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.