Italian and immigrant families: Assessing risk and protective factors in the evaluation of parenting skills

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Luca Milani, Serena Grumi, Giulia Gagliardi, Paola Di Blasio
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2016/1
Language Italian Pages 23 P. 67-89 File size 159 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2016-001008
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Child abuse is a major public health issue, which threatens psychological and physical well-being of almost 100.000 minors in Italy. In order to better protect those minors and to favour their positive adaptation, an early assessment of those that are at risk of being maltreated is crucial. The assessment of risk is particularly difficult in migrant families, which are often in a state of vulnerability. The aim of the present study is to: a) evaluate the efficacy of the Risk and Protective factors Protocol (Di Blasio, 2005) in the identification of children at high risk in those families referred to Child Protection Services and b) to highlight specific risk and protective profiles of Italian and foreign families. For this aim, Social records of 58 Italian children and 69 immigrant children were analyzed. Results show that the protocol is useful to discriminate high- and low-risk families regardless of their country of origin. Furthermore, results show that Italian families and foreign families are characterized by different profile of risk and protective factors. Consequences in terms of public health are discussed in the light of the existing literature.

Keywords: Child abuse/maltreatment, immigration, risk factors, protective factors, risk assessment.

  1. Akmatov M. K. (2011). Child abuse in 28 developing and transitional countries--results from the multiple indicator cluster surveys. International Journal of Epidemiology, 40: 219-227. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyq16
  2. Alfieri S., Marta E., Lanz M., Pozzi M. e Tagliabue S. (2014). Famiglia delle regole e famiglia degli affetti: quali conseguenze su benessere e disagio nei figli adolescenti? [Family of rules and family of affects. Which are the consequences on the well-being of adolescent off-springs?]. Psicologia della Salute, 2: 61-78. DOI: 10.3280/PDS2014-00200
  3. Alink L. R. A., Euser S., van IJzendoorn M. H. and Bakermans-Kranenburg M. J. (2013). Is elevated risk of child maltreatment in immigrant families associated with socioeconomic status? Evidence from three sources. International Journal of Psychology, 48 (2): 117-127. DOI: 10.1080/00207594.2012.73462
  4. Annerback E. M., Wingren G., Svedin C. G. and Gustafsson P. A. (2010). Prevalence and characteristics of child physical abuse in Sweden – findings from a population-based youth survey. Acta Paediatrica, 99: 1229-1236. DOI: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.01792.
  5. Azar S. (2002). Parenting and child maltreatment. In: Bornstein M.H., editor, Handbook of parenting: Vol. 4. Social conditions and applied parenting. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 361-388.
  6. Bardi M. and Borgognini-Tarli S. M. (2001). A survey on parent–child conflict resolution: intrafamily violence in Italy. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25: 839-853. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(01)00242-
  7. Beiser M. (2005). The health of immigrants and refugees in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96 (2): 30-44. Retrieved from: http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/ article/view/1494/1683
  8. Boden J. M., Horwood L. J. and Fergusson D. M. (2007). Exposure to childhood sexual and physical abuse and subsequent educational achievement outcomes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31 (10): 1101-1114. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.03.02
  9. Caeser P. (1988). Exposure to violence in the families of origin among wife abusers and maritally nonviolent men. Violence and Victims, 3: 49-63.
  10. Camisasca E., Miragoli S. e Di Blasio P. (2014). La disorganizzazione dell’attaccamento spiega I sintomi post-traumatici nei bambini vittime di violenza intrafamiliare? [Does attachment disorganization explain the posttraumatic symptoms in maltreated children?]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 16 (2): 35-55. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2014-00200
  11. Campbell J. C. and Soeken K. L. (1999). Women’s responses to battering: a test of the model. Research in Nursing and Health, 22: 49-58. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-240X(199902)22:1<49::AID-NUR6>3.0.CO;2-
  12. Cirillo S. (2005). Cattivi Genitori [Bad Parents]. Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
  13. CISMAI e Terre des Hommes (2012). Maltrattamento sui bambini: quante le vittime in Italia? Prima indagine nazionale quali-quantitativa sul maltrattamento a danno dei bambini [Child Maltreatment: how many victims in Italy? First national qualitative and quantitative survey about maltreatment against children]. Retrieved from: www.cismai.org
  14. CISMAI, Terre des Hommes e Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi (2013). Tagliare sui bambini è davvero un risparmio? Spesa pubblica: impatto della mancata prevenzione della violenza sui bambini [Saving on social policies for children is really a saving? Public spending: effects of no child abuse prevention]. Retrieved from: www.cismai.org
  15. Cummings E., Davies P. and Campbell S. (2000). Developmental psychopathology and family process. New York: Guilford Press.
  16. DeRoma V., Kessler L. M., McDaniel R. e Soto C. (2008). Importanti fattori di rischio nelle decisioni di allontanamento: le percezioni degli operatori sociali [Important risk factors in home-removal decisions: social caseworker perceptions]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 10 (3): 9-23. DOI: 10.1400/11341
  17. Di Blasio P. (2000). Psicologia del bambino maltrattato [Abused Child’s Psychology]. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  18. Di Blasio P. (2005). Tra rischio e protezione. La valutazione delle competenze parentali [Between risk and protection. The evaluation of parenting skills]. Milano: Unicopli.
  19. Dorsey S., Mustillo S. A., Farmer E. M. Z. and Elbogen E. (2008) Caseworker assessments of risk for recurrent maltreatment: Association with case-specific risk factors and re-reports. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32 (3): 377-391. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.06.00
  20. Duke N. N., Pettingell S. L., McMorris B. J. and Borowsky I. W. (2010). Adolescent violence perpetration: associations with multiple types of adverse childhood experiences. Pediatrics, 125 (4): e778–e786. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-059
  21. Epifani P. e Braibanti P. (2014). Le culture degli operatori nel Consultorio Familiare in relazione alla domanda degli utenti [The cultures of Family Planning Clinic workers regarding patient demand]. Psicologia della Salute, 2: 97-119. DOI: 10.3280/PDS2014-00200
  22. Euser E. M., Van IJzendoorn M. H., Prinzie P. and Bakermans-Kranenburg M. J. (2011). Elevated child maltreatment rates in immigrant families and the role of socio-economic differences. Child Maltreatment, 16 (1): 63-73. DOI: 10.1177/107755951038584
  23. Finkelhor D. and Korbin J. (1988). Child Abuse as an International Issue. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12: 3-23. DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(94)90026-
  24. Fraser M. W., Walton E., Lewis R. E., Pecora P. J. and Walton W. K. (1996). An experiment in family reunification: correlates of outcomes at one-year-follow-up. Children and youth services review, 18 (4-5): 335-361. DOI: 10.1016/0190-7409(96)00009-
  25. Herrenkohl R. C. and Herrenkohl T. I. (2009). Assessing a child’s experience of multiple maltreatment types: some unfinished business. Journal of Family Violence, 24 (7): 485-496. DOI: 10.1007/s10896-009-9247-
  26. Ionio C. (2005). Parenting: definizione, modelli e caratteristiche culturali [Parenting: definition, models and cultural characteristics]. In P. Di Blasio (a cura di), Tra rischio e protezione. La valutazione delle competenze parentali [Between risk and protection. The evaluation of parenting skills]. Milano: Unicopli, pp. 53-70.
  27. Ionio C., Olivari M. G. e Confalonieri E. (2013). Eventi traumatici in adolescenza: risposte psicologiche e comportamentali [Traumatic events in adolescence: Psychological and behavioural implications]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 15 (2): 87-99. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2013-00200
  28. Kearney C. A., Wechsler A., Kaur H. and Lemos-Miller A. (2010). Posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth: A review of contemporary research and thought. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13: 46-76. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-009-0061-4
  29. Lipovsky J., Swenson C. C., Ralston M. E. and Saunders B. E. (1998). The abuse clarification process in the treatment of intrafamilial child abuse. Child abuse and Neglect, 22 (7): 729-741. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(98)00051-
  30. Martorana G. (2012). L’autoferimento. Uno studio pilota sui fattori di rischio: ruolo e interazione di trauma, attaccamento, dissociazione ed alessitimia [The self injury. A pilot study on risk factors: role and interaction of trauma, attachment, dissociation and alexithymia]. Psicologia della Salute, 2: 7-31. DOI: 10.3280/PDS2012-00200
  31. Medora N. P., Wilson S. and Larson J. H. (2001). Attitudes toward parenting strategies, potential for child abuse and parental satisfaction of ethnically diverse low-income U.S. mothers. The Journal of Social Psychology, 141 (3): 335-348. DOI: 10.1080/0022454010960055
  32. Milani L. e Gagliardi G. (2013). Fattori di rischio e di protezione nella valutazione delle competenze parentali di famiglie italiane e famiglie immigrate [Risk and protective factors in the evaluation of parenting skills: a comparison between Italian and immigrant families]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 15 (1): 59-80. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2013-00100
  33. Miller E., Bresiau J., Chung W. J. J., Green J. G., McLaughlin K. A. and Kessier R. C. (2011). Adverse childhood experiences and risk of physical violence in adolescent dating relationships. Journal of epidemiology & Community Health, 65 (11): 1006-1013. DOI: 10.1136/jech.2009.10542
  34. Milner J. S. and Wimberley R. C. (1979). An inventory for the identification of child abusers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35: 945-948. DOI: 10.1002/1097-4679(197901)35:1<95::AID-JCLP2270350112>3.0.CO;2-
  35. Miragoli S. e Caravita S. (2007). La prevenzione dell’abuso e del maltrattamento all’infanzia all’interno del contesto scolastico: rilevazione e segnalazione [Prevention of child maltreatment in school context: detection and reporting]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 9 (1): 37-48. DOI: 10.1400/7006
  36. Miragoli S. e Verrocchio M. C. (2008). La valutazione del rischio in situazioni di disagio familiare: fattori di rischio e fattori di protezione [Risk evaluation in circumstances of problematic families: risk and protective factors]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 10: 11-28. DOI: 10.1400/11342
  37. Moro M.R. (1998). Psychothérapie transculturelle de l’enfant et de l’adolescent [Transcultural psychotherapy for children and adolescents]. Paris: Dunod.
  38. Nathan T. (1988). Psychanalyse païenne. Essais ethnopsychanalytiques [Pagan psychoanalysis. Ethno-psychoanalytic essay]. Paris: Dunod.
  39. Norman R. E., Byambaa M., De R., Butchart A., Scott J. and Vos T. (2012). The Long-Term Health Consequences of Child Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, and Neglect: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLOS Medicine, 9 (11): e1001349. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.100134
  40. OMS / World Health Organization (2002). World Report on Violence and Health. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/
  41. OMS / World Health Organization (2006). Preventing Child Maltreatment: a guide to taking action and generating evidence. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_ prevention/publications/violence/child_maltreatment/en/
  42. Putnam- Hornstein E., Nedell B., King B. and Johnson-Motoyama M. (2013). Racial and ethnic disparities: A population-based examination of risk factors for involvement with child protective services. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37 (1): 33-46. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.08.00
  43. Rossi P., Schuerman J. and Budde S. (1996). Understanding child maltreatment decisions and those who make them. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago.
  44. Sansone R. A., Leung J. S. and Wiederman M. W. (2012). Five forms of childhood trauma: Relationships with employment in adulthood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36: 676-679. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.07.00
  45. Sethi D., Hughes K., Bellis M., Mitis F. and Racioppi F. (2010). European report preventing violence and knife crime among young people. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.euro. who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/121314/ E94277
  46. Sidebotham P., Heron J. and Golding J. (2002). Child maltreatment in the “children of the nineties:” deprivation, class, and social networks in a UK sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26 (12): 1243-1259. DOI: 10.1016/S0145-2134(02)00415-
  47. Slack K.S., Holl J.L., McDaniel M., Yoo J. and Bolger K. (2004). Understanding the risks of child neglect: An exploration of poverty and parenting characteristics. Child Maltreatment, 9: 395-408. DOI: 10.1177/107755950426919
  48. Stith S. M., Liu T., Davies L. C., Boykin E. L., Alder M. C., Harris J. M., Som A., McPherson M. and Dees J. E. M. E. G. (2009). Risk factors in child maltreatment: a meta-analytic review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14: 13-29. DOI: 10.1016/j.avb.2006.03.00
  49. Valtolina G. G. (2012). Gruppi di supporto alla genitorialità per genitori italiani e stranieri nella scuola dell’infanzia. Analisi di un’esperienza [Parenting support groups for Italian and foreign parents in primary school. An experience analysis.]. Psicologia clinica dello sviluppo, XVI (2): 441-448. DOI: 10.1449/3783
  50. Valtolina G. G. (2013). Contesto culturale, controllo genitoriale e punizioni fisiche [Cultural background, parental control and corporal punishments]. Maltrattamento e Abuso all’Infanzia, 15 (1): 11-35. DOI: 10.3280/MAL2013-00100
  51. Verrastro V. (2006). Strategie e Interventi in Psicologia Clinica dello Sviluppo [Strategies and interventions in clinical developmental psychology]. Milano: Franco Angeli.
  52. Whitaker D. J., Le B., Hanson R. K., Baker C. K., McMahon P. M., Ryan G., Klein A. and Rice D. D. (2008). Risk factors for the perpetration of child sexual abuse: a review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32 (5): 529-548. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.08.00
  53. Yu S. M., Huang Z. J., Schwalberg R. H. and Nyman R. M. (2006). Parental English proficiency and children’s health services access. American Journal of Public Health, 96 (8): 1449-1455. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.06950
  54. Yu S. M. and Singh G. (2012). High Parenting Aggravation Among US Immigrant Families. American Journal of Public Health, 102 (11): 2102-2108. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.30069

  • Adattamento di coppia, cogenitorialità e benessere psicologico dei figli: uno studio esplorativo Elena Camisasca, Sarah Miragoli, Luca Milani, Paola Di Blasio, in PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE 2/2016 pp.127
    DOI: 10.3280/PDS2016-002007
  • Risk and Protective Factors regarding Child Neglect: Differences among Immigrant and Italian Parents Francesca Ranghetti, Luca Milani, in Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma /2022 pp.44
    DOI: 10.1080/10926771.2021.1970671
  • Padri maltrattanti coinvolti nella Tutela Minorile: un focus sui fattori di rischio e di protezione Serena Grumi, Eleonora Mascheroni, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 3/2017 pp.111
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2017-003007
  • Children and Peace Luca Milani, Sarah Miragoli, Serena Grumi, Paola Di Blasio, pp.3 (ISBN:978-3-030-22175-1)
  • Risk assessment in a multicultural context: Risk and protective factors in the decision to place children in foster care Serena Grumi, Luca Milani, Paola Di Blasio, in Children and Youth Services Review /2017 pp.69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.04.009
  • Empatia e Child Abuse Potential Laura Salvioni, in MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL'INFANZIA 1/2020 pp.113
    DOI: 10.3280/MAL2020-001008
  • Familial risk and protective factors affecting CPS professionals’ child removal decision: A decision tree analysis study Luca Milani, Serena Grumi, Elena Camisasca, Sarah Miragoli, Daniela Traficante, Paola Di Blasio, in Children and Youth Services Review 104687/2020 pp.104687
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104687
  • The CPS Workers’ Child Removal Decision in Cases of Domestic and Witnessed Violence Luca Milani, Serena Grumi, Elena Camisasca, Sarah Miragoli, Martina Cattani, Paola Di Blasio, in Journal of Interpersonal Violence /2023 pp.6819
    DOI: 10.1177/08862605221137710

Luca Milani, Serena Grumi, Giulia Gagliardi, Paola Di Blasio, Famiglie italiane e immigrate: identificare fattori di rischio e di protezione nella valutazione delle competenze genitoriali in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 1/2016, pp 67-89, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2016-001008