Prevalence and risk factors of child maltreatment among migrant families in China.

Although cases of child abuse among migrant families are often reported by social media, the issue of child maltreatment among migrant families in China has received little empirical attention. This study investigated both the prevalence of child maltreatment by parents among migrant families, and the individual, family and community-level risk factors associated with child abuse in this context. A survey was conducted with 667 migrant and 496 local adolescents in Shenzhen, South China, with a stratified two-stage cluster sampling design. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to compare the prevalence of maltreatment between migrant and local adolescents, and also to explore risk factors associated with the psychological and physical maltreatment in both groups. The results showed that parent-to-child abuse was more prevalent among migrant than local adolescents, with migrant adolescents 1.490 and 1.425 times more likely to be psychologically and physically abused by their parents than their local counterparts. Low academic performance, delinquent behavior, family economic adversity and low parent attachment put migrant adolescents at increased risk of both psychological and physical maltreatment, and neighborhood disorganization was significantly related to psychological aggression among migrant adolescents. The findings confirm that child abuse perpetuated by parents is a serious problem in Mainland China, especially among migrant families, and implications for policy and practice are discussed.