Navajo Child Abuse and Neglect Study: a Comparison Group Examination of Abuse and Neglect of Navajo Children

The presence of vastly different cultural influences on child rearing and family life in Native Americans than are found in the general population offers an opportunity to examine the issue of child abuse and neglect in a different cultural context. A study was conducted to obtain baseline data and to isolate types and circumstances associated with maltreatment of Navajo children under 9 years of age. Records from tribal and state courts, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), state social services and a sample of ambulatory pediatric cases were reviewed to elicit abuse or neglect status data for calendar year 1975. Data on 365 abuse or neglect cases were compared with 867 nonabused or nonneglected children (comparison group). A double blind case numbering system was employed to ensure confidentiality of data obtained. Abuse cases were dichotomized according to litigation status (e.g., adjudicated versus documented by clinical findings). Neglect cases were categorized by perceived parental control over circumstances leading to the neglect (e.g., voluntary versus involuntary neglect). Reliability sub-studies were conducted by study staff and Navajo volunteers to assess the degree of agreement in the classification of study case status. Tribal census data for 1975 provided baseline information from which the incidence of abuse or neglect involving Navajo children was established. Extrapolated study data suggests up to 8.6% of the reservation resident Navajo children under age 9 to have been abused or neglected. Various sociodemographic characteristics differentiating the abusive and neglectful families from those of the nonabused or nonneglected children in the comparison group are reported. R&um&Le problbme des s&ices et nkgligence a 1’Cgard d’enfants se pr&ente tout diffkremment chez les Amtricains “natifs” (par rapport aux Amtricains Venus de l’ext&ieur) ti cause d’importantes diffkrences culturelles bien stir. Les auteurs de cet article ont compulti des dossiers provenant de tribunaux de tribu et d’ttat, du Bureau des Affaires Indiennes, des services sociaux de 1’Etat ainsi qu’un certain nombre de cahiers de consultations p6diatriques ambulatoires. Ces documents se rapportaient a l’Ann6e 1975 et aux enfants de moins de 9 ans. Les auteurs ont accumults 365 cas de mauvais traitements, qu’ils ont cornpar& avec 867 situations oh les enfants Navajos n’avaient pas Ct6 maltraites, ces demiers servant de groupe tCmoin. Pour assurer une certaine objectivitk, les chercheurs ont utilis6 une numbrotation des documents dite a double insu. Les cas de s&ices ont ttb partagts en deux catbgories: ceux oh apr& jugement on a conclu qu’il y avait eu s&ices, et ceux oti le traumatisme non-accidentel dtait evident cliniquement. Les cas de negligence furent divises en: ntgligence volontaire et negligence involontaire. Des aides, notamment des volontaires Navajos, v&ifi&rent de fason indtpendante que les cas Ctaient bien class& oh ils devaient l’&re. Pour la ftiquence et la prevalence, la statistique a ttt fond6e sur le recensement tribal de 1975. 11 est appam que le 8.6% (chiffre maximum) des enfants de la RCserve indienne Navajo, ages de moins de 9 ans, ont et6 victimes de violence physique ou de negligence. On a pu ttablir des diffkrences sociodCmographiques entre les familles maltraitantes et les autres.