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NIS interpretations: Race and the National Incidence Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect

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  • Drake, Brett
  • Jonson-Reid, Melissa

Abstract

The National Incidence Studies (NIS) of Child Abuse and Neglect are the primary estimates of actual child maltreatment rates in the United States. Findings from the NIS-2 of 1986, and the NIS-3, of 1993, have been presented as demonstrating that Blacks and Whites are maltreated at equal rates. The NIS-4, using 2006 data, was presented as showing markedly different findings from the prior NIS studies with regard to race. A supplementary NIS-4 report on race argued that differences between the NIS-3 and NIS-4 were due to better precision and an expanding income gap between Blacks and Whites between 1993 and 2006. This paper will demonstrate that the NIS-2 and NIS-3 did not, as is commonly believed, show equivalence between Black and White maltreatment rates and that the NIS-2, NIS-3 and NIS-4 do not differ markedly in their racial findings. Further, the large historical increase in the Black/White income gap cited in the NIS-4 race supplement derives from a simple failure to account for inflation. If left unaddressed, misinterpretations of NIS data will continue to misinform policy, cloud the issue of racial bias in the child welfare system and obscure the ongoing role of concentrated poverty in driving racial disproportionality.

Suggested Citation

  • Drake, Brett & Jonson-Reid, Melissa, 2011. "NIS interpretations: Race and the National Incidence Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 16-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:33:y:2011:i:1:p:16-20
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Drake, Brett & Lee, Sang Moo & Jonson-Reid, Melissa, 2009. "Race and child maltreatment reporting: Are Blacks overrepresented?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 309-316, March.
    2. Drake, Brett & Rank, Mark R., 2009. "The racial divide among American children in poverty: Reassessing the importance of neighborhood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 1264-1271, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Smith, Brenda D. & Li, Qingyi & Wang, Kun & Smith, Angela M., 2021. "A national study of child maltreatment reporting at the county level: Interactions among race/ethnicity, rurality and poverty," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    2. Karatekin, Canan & Gehrman, Richard & Lawler, Jamie, 2014. "A study of maltreated children and their families in juvenile court: I. Court performance measures," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 62-74.
    3. Morton, Cory M. & Ocasio, Kerrie & Simmel, Cassandra, 2011. "A critique of methods used to describe the overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1538-1542, September.
    4. Janczewski, Colleen E. & Mersky, Joshua P., 2016. "What's so different about differential response? A multilevel and longitudinal analysis of child neglect investigations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 123-132.
    5. Victor, Bryan G. & Ryan, Joseph P. & Moore, Andrew & Mowbray, Orion & Evangelist, Michael & Perron, Brian E., 2016. "Foster home licensing and risk of reentry to out-of-home care following family reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 112-119.
    6. Boyd, Reiko, 2014. "African American disproportionality and disparity in child welfare: Toward a comprehensive conceptual framework," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 15-27.
    7. Lee, Barbara & Fuller-Thomson, Esme & Trocmé, Nico & Fallon, Barbara & Black, Tara, 2016. "Delineating disproportionality and disparity of Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian families in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 383-393.
    8. Guowei Wan & Huihui Gong, 2022. "Ethnic Disparities and the Psychological Trauma of Maltreated Children: Evidence from Three Multi-ethnic Counties in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2765-2788, October.
    9. repec:cup:judgdm:v:9:y:2014:i:2:p:114-128 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Jeryl L. Mumpower & Gary H. McClelland, 2014. "A signal detection theory analysis of racial and ethnic disproportionality in the referral and substantiation processes of the U.S. child welfare services system," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 9(2), pages 114-128, March.
    11. Cheng, Tyrone C. & Lo, Celia C., 2013. "Racial disparity in risk factors for substantiation of child maltreatment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 1962-1969.

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