Asian American Journal of Psychology, Vol 14(1), Mar 2023, 28-35; doi:10.1037/aap0000251
Child maltreatment among Asian immigrant parents has been largely understudied, even though Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the U.S. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the potential moderating role of social support in relation to parenting stress and risk of child maltreatment among Asian immigrant parents. In collaboration with a major multiservice agency serving diverse racial and ethnic populations in New York City, face-to-face interviews were conducted among Asian American parents. The data from a sample of 259 Asian parents who identified as first-generation immigrants were used in multivariate regression analyses. The results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between parenting stress and risk of child maltreatment, even after controlling for other predictors. While a significant relationship between social support and the risk of child maltreatment was found, it became weaker as other predictors were included. However, a moderating effect of social support was not found to buffer the negative impacts of parenting stress on the risk of child maltreatment. Study findings suggest that more culturally competent interventions should be provided, which aim at reducing parenting stress, increasing utilization of available professional services, and encouraging Asian immigrant families to develop a social support system of family and friends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)