Julie Ma | University of Michigan - Flint (original) (raw)
Papers by Julie Ma
Child Abuse & Neglect
Background: Nearly one third of children under five in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) ex... more Background: Nearly one third of children under five in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience spanking. Studies from North America suggest that spanking is associated with heightened risk of physical abuse. However, the link between spanking and physical abuse in the international context remains understudied. Objective: To examine the association between caregivers' spanking and physical abuse of young children in LMICs, and to estimate the extent to which physical abuse might be reduced if spanking were eliminated. Participants: We used nationally representative data from 156,166 1-to 4-year-old children in 56 LMICs from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Methods: A nationally weighted multilevel logistic regression model examined the association between spanking and physical abuse. We calculated predicted probabilities of physical abuse, which we present using natural frequencies. Results: Spanking was associated with higher odds of physical abuse (OR = 5.74, p < .001). The predicted probability of physical abuse decreased by 14% comparing children who were spanked (22%) and who were not spanked (8%). When our estimates were translated to a hypothetical sample of 100 children using a natural frequency approach, 32 children were spanked; of those, seven experienced physical abuse. The elimination of spanking would result in four fewer children who were exposed to physical abuse. In relation to the population of abused children, estimates suggest that physical abuse could reduce by up to 33% if spanking were eliminated. Conclusions: Results support the UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 16.2 that calls for eliminating all forms of violence against children. Child welfare advocates should discourage caregivers from using spanking, in order to prevent physical abuse.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2022
Background: Caregivers use a variety of disciplinary methods to respond to undesired child behavi... more Background: Caregivers use a variety of disciplinary methods to respond to undesired child behavior. Many caregivers use nonaggressive forms of discipline, such as verbal reasoning and redirection. Some caregivers use aggressive forms of discipline, such as spanking and yelling. However, most caregivers use a combination of aggressive and nonaggressive discipline. To date, a disproportionately small number of caregiver discipline studies are conducted in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), and few studies in low-resource contexts examine aggressive and nonaggressive behaviors simultaneously. Objective: This study aims to elucidate caregiver patterns of 11 disciplinary behaviors used in LMICs, and examine how these patterns relate to child outcomes and household characteristics. Participants and setting: Data came from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) distributed between 2009 and 2017 (N = 218,824 respondents across 63 countries). Focal children were 3-4 years old. Methods: Patterns of disciplinary behaviors were estimated using a multilevel latent class analysis (LCA). Multinomial regression analyses examined associations of disciplinary patterns with caregiver-reported child outcomes and household characteristics. Results: The LCA suggested caregiver discipline fell into three overall patterns: high behavioral control, moderate behavior control, and lower behavioral control. The lower behavioral control class was associated with the most advantageous child outcomes and household socio-demographic characteristics, whereas the high behavioral control class was associated with the most disadvantageous child outcomes and household characteristics. Conclusions: Efforts should be employed to reduce aggressive behaviors and promote positive parenting among caregivers in LMICs.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Gender inequality perpetuates women’s economic insecurity and a culture of violence. Parental dis... more Gender inequality perpetuates women’s economic insecurity and a culture of violence. Parental distress caused by economic pressure may increase violence against children. High levels of gender inequality and interpersonal violence may contribute to higher levels of physical abuse. Using an ecological perspective, this study examines the association of country-level gender inequality and household-level parental physical abuse, and the moderating role of child gender in this association in low- and middle-income countries. We used data on over 420,000 households from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and country-level indicators from the United Nations Development Program Human Development data. We employed multilevel logistic regression to examine the association between gender inequality with the log-odds of physical abuse after accounting for country- and individual-level covariates. In order to more fully explore our results, we calculated predicted probabilities of a...
A body of existing research addresses the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and negative pa... more A body of existing research addresses the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and negative parenting practices on child outcomes. A notable gap in extant literature, however, is the scarcity of research that encompasses the simultaneous effects of neighborhood and parenting processes on early childhood outcomes. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a longitudinal birth cohort study of nearly 5,000 children, this dissertation explores the effects of neighborhood disorganization (i.e., lack of collective efficacy) and maternal corporal punishment on early externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Results from cross-sectional multilevel models demonstrate that both neighborhood disorganization and maternal corporal punishment are significant risk factors to behavior problems in early childhood. The indirect neighborhood effect on behavior problems through corporal punishment was not significant, suggesting that empirically, neighborhood collective efficacy and corporal punishment are distinct predictors of early behavior problems. Racial and ethnic differences in the direct effects of neighborhood and parenting processes on behavior problems were only apparent between Hispanic and white children such that the association between collective efficacy and internalizing problem were stronger among Hispanic children than white children. Longitudinal multilevel models indicate the prominence of neighborhood effects starting at early ages-child age was a significant moderator in the collective efficacy and internalizing behavior linkage. The effect of maternal corporal punishment on behavior problems in this sample were not dependent on child age, suggesting the harmful influence of maternal corporal punishment is consistent throughout early childhood. The findings of this study provide substantive implications to social work practice by reinforcing the importance of community-based multilevel prevention and intervention programs that promote both neighborhood collective efficacy and alternatives to parental corporal punishment to prevent early behavior problems.
Family relations, 2016
Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community ... more Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community violence with youth outcomes is limited in the previous research literature, particularly in Latin America. This study examined the relationship of youth exposure to family and community violence-parental use of corporal punishment, violence in the community, intimate partner physical aggression-with eight subscales of the Youth Self Report among a Chilean sample of 593 youth-mother pairs. Results from multilevel models indicated a positive association between youth exposure to violence in the family and community, and a wide range of behavior problem outcomes, in particular, aggression. With growing evidence concerning the detrimental effect of violence on youth's well-being, these findings highlight the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the various kinds of violence youth are exposed to within the family and community and the concomitant need to reduce multiple forms o...
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2012
ABSTRACT Background and Purpose Prior research has identified an inverse association between livi... more ABSTRACT Background and Purpose Prior research has identified an inverse association between living in neighborhoods with a high level of crime and youth’s academic outcomes. As lower academic performance is reported to have a negative relationship with youth’s successful transition into adulthood, effective intervention that alleviates the negative influences of living in disadvantaged neighborhoods plagued by crime on youth’s academic performance is critical. Yet, this research is scant in Latin America. Grounded in a resiliency model, this study examined (a) the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and youth’s academic performance and (b) the extent to which sense of school belonging, parental monitoring, and family involvement buffered the relationship between neighborhood crime and youth academic outcomes. Method Data for this study are from 863 adolescents (ages 11-17, mean=14.3, SD=1.4) from municipalities of lower-middle to low socioeconomic status in Santiago, Chile. Data were analyzed with descriptive and ordered logistic regression analyses. The dependent variable was youth-reported grade repetition with an ordered response category (0=never, 1=once, 2=more than two times). Brant test was conducted to test the proportional odds assumption and results indicated that the assumption was not violated. The primary independent variable, neighborhood crime, was a composite score of three questions on youth perceptions of crime. Scores ranged from none to 15. Other independent variables included youth’s demographic information (e.g., gender, age, SES), individual- (self-esteem), school- (sense of school belonging), as well as family- (parental monitoring, family involvement) level factors. Results The prevalence of grade repetition in this sample was 19%, a higher percentage than that of other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (mean=13%). Results of the ordered logistic regression indicated a positive relationship between youth’s exposure to neighborhood crime and grade repetition (OR=1.13; 95% CI=1.07-1.18). This association was significant even after controlling for demographics, individual-, school- and family-level factors (OR=1.07; 95% CI=1.01-1.13). Youth who were older, males, and those of lower socio-economic status were more likely to repeat a grade compared to their counterparts. School belonging and parental monitoring were negatively associated with grade repetition. In addition, when youth were exposed to higher levels of neighborhood crime, the probability of repeating a grade was lower among youth with higher levels of parental monitoring and school belonging, suggesting the protective role of positive school and family level factors in the relationship between neighborhood crime and grade repetition. Conclusions The study findings demonstrate that youth’s exposure to neighborhood crime is positively associated with grade repetition among a sample of Chilean youth, even after controlling for demographic, individual, school and family characteristics. Interestingly, positive school and family factors were protective amidst the presence of crime in the neighborhood where the youth live. Consistent with social work’s person-in-environment framework, these findings point to the importance of comprehensive approaches at the educational practice and policy level to promoting youth academic performance by targeting changes at multiple levels that influence youth lives.
International Journal of Behavioral Development
Background and Objective: Sixty countries worldwide have banned the use of physical punishment, y... more Background and Objective: Sixty countries worldwide have banned the use of physical punishment, yet little is known about the association of physical and nonphysical forms of child discipline with child development in a global context. The objective of this study is to examine whether physical punishment and nonphysical discipline are associated with child socioemotional functioning in a global sample of families from 62 countries and whether country-level normativeness of physical punishment and nonphysical discipline moderated those associations. Methods: Data for this study are from 215,885 families in the fourth and fifth rounds of the United Nations Children’s Fund Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Bayesian multilevel logistic models were used to analyze the associations of physical punishment and nonphysical discipline (i.e., taking away privileges and verbal reasoning) with three different outcomes representing children’s socioemotional functioning: getting along well with ...
International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health, 2012
Parent-youth agreement on parental behaviors can characterize effective parenting. Although disco... more Parent-youth agreement on parental behaviors can characterize effective parenting. Although discordance in families may be developmentally salient and harmful to youth outcomes, predictors of discordance have been understudied, and existing research in this field has been mostly limited to North American samples. This paper addressed this literature gap by using data from a community-based study of Chilean adolescents. Analysis was based on 1,068 adolescents in Santiago, Chile. The dependent variable was discordance which was measured by the difference between parent and youth's assessment of parental monitoring. Major independent variables for this study were selected based on previous research findings that underscore youth's developmental factors, positive parental and familial factors and demographic factors. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the prevalence and associations between youth, parental and familial measures with parent-youth disc...
The Journal of Pediatrics
Child abuse & neglect, 2018
This study employed fixed effects regression that controls for selection bias, omitted variables ... more This study employed fixed effects regression that controls for selection bias, omitted variables bias, and all time-invariant aspects of parent and child characteristics to examine the simultaneous associations between neighborhood disorganization, maternal spanking, and aggressive behavior in early childhood using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Analysis was based on 2,472 children and their mothers who participated in Wave 3 (2001-2003; child age 3) and Wave 4 (2003-2006; child age 5) of the FFCWS. Results indicated that higher rates of neighborhood crime and violence predicted higher levels of child aggression. Maternal spanking in the past year, whether frequent or infrequent, was also associated with increases in aggressive behavior. This study contributes statistically rigorous evidence that exposure to violence in the neighborhood as well as the family context are predictors of child aggression. We conclude with a discussion for the need for ...
Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is stil... more Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is still very prevalent worldwide. We examine predictors of different types of corporal punishment among Ukrainian mothers in 12 communities across Ukraine. Findings suggest that maternal spirituality, maternal coping styles, family communication, and some demographic characteristics are predictive of mothers' use of corporal punishment.
Children and Youth Services Review
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Children and Youth Services Review
Journal of Community Psychology
Child Abuse & Neglect
Background: Nearly one third of children under five in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) ex... more Background: Nearly one third of children under five in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience spanking. Studies from North America suggest that spanking is associated with heightened risk of physical abuse. However, the link between spanking and physical abuse in the international context remains understudied. Objective: To examine the association between caregivers' spanking and physical abuse of young children in LMICs, and to estimate the extent to which physical abuse might be reduced if spanking were eliminated. Participants: We used nationally representative data from 156,166 1-to 4-year-old children in 56 LMICs from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Methods: A nationally weighted multilevel logistic regression model examined the association between spanking and physical abuse. We calculated predicted probabilities of physical abuse, which we present using natural frequencies. Results: Spanking was associated with higher odds of physical abuse (OR = 5.74, p < .001). The predicted probability of physical abuse decreased by 14% comparing children who were spanked (22%) and who were not spanked (8%). When our estimates were translated to a hypothetical sample of 100 children using a natural frequency approach, 32 children were spanked; of those, seven experienced physical abuse. The elimination of spanking would result in four fewer children who were exposed to physical abuse. In relation to the population of abused children, estimates suggest that physical abuse could reduce by up to 33% if spanking were eliminated. Conclusions: Results support the UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 16.2 that calls for eliminating all forms of violence against children. Child welfare advocates should discourage caregivers from using spanking, in order to prevent physical abuse.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2022
Background: Caregivers use a variety of disciplinary methods to respond to undesired child behavi... more Background: Caregivers use a variety of disciplinary methods to respond to undesired child behavior. Many caregivers use nonaggressive forms of discipline, such as verbal reasoning and redirection. Some caregivers use aggressive forms of discipline, such as spanking and yelling. However, most caregivers use a combination of aggressive and nonaggressive discipline. To date, a disproportionately small number of caregiver discipline studies are conducted in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), and few studies in low-resource contexts examine aggressive and nonaggressive behaviors simultaneously. Objective: This study aims to elucidate caregiver patterns of 11 disciplinary behaviors used in LMICs, and examine how these patterns relate to child outcomes and household characteristics. Participants and setting: Data came from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) distributed between 2009 and 2017 (N = 218,824 respondents across 63 countries). Focal children were 3-4 years old. Methods: Patterns of disciplinary behaviors were estimated using a multilevel latent class analysis (LCA). Multinomial regression analyses examined associations of disciplinary patterns with caregiver-reported child outcomes and household characteristics. Results: The LCA suggested caregiver discipline fell into three overall patterns: high behavioral control, moderate behavior control, and lower behavioral control. The lower behavioral control class was associated with the most advantageous child outcomes and household socio-demographic characteristics, whereas the high behavioral control class was associated with the most disadvantageous child outcomes and household characteristics. Conclusions: Efforts should be employed to reduce aggressive behaviors and promote positive parenting among caregivers in LMICs.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Gender inequality perpetuates women’s economic insecurity and a culture of violence. Parental dis... more Gender inequality perpetuates women’s economic insecurity and a culture of violence. Parental distress caused by economic pressure may increase violence against children. High levels of gender inequality and interpersonal violence may contribute to higher levels of physical abuse. Using an ecological perspective, this study examines the association of country-level gender inequality and household-level parental physical abuse, and the moderating role of child gender in this association in low- and middle-income countries. We used data on over 420,000 households from the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and country-level indicators from the United Nations Development Program Human Development data. We employed multilevel logistic regression to examine the association between gender inequality with the log-odds of physical abuse after accounting for country- and individual-level covariates. In order to more fully explore our results, we calculated predicted probabilities of a...
A body of existing research addresses the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and negative pa... more A body of existing research addresses the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and negative parenting practices on child outcomes. A notable gap in extant literature, however, is the scarcity of research that encompasses the simultaneous effects of neighborhood and parenting processes on early childhood outcomes. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a longitudinal birth cohort study of nearly 5,000 children, this dissertation explores the effects of neighborhood disorganization (i.e., lack of collective efficacy) and maternal corporal punishment on early externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Results from cross-sectional multilevel models demonstrate that both neighborhood disorganization and maternal corporal punishment are significant risk factors to behavior problems in early childhood. The indirect neighborhood effect on behavior problems through corporal punishment was not significant, suggesting that empirically, neighborhood collective efficacy and corporal punishment are distinct predictors of early behavior problems. Racial and ethnic differences in the direct effects of neighborhood and parenting processes on behavior problems were only apparent between Hispanic and white children such that the association between collective efficacy and internalizing problem were stronger among Hispanic children than white children. Longitudinal multilevel models indicate the prominence of neighborhood effects starting at early ages-child age was a significant moderator in the collective efficacy and internalizing behavior linkage. The effect of maternal corporal punishment on behavior problems in this sample were not dependent on child age, suggesting the harmful influence of maternal corporal punishment is consistent throughout early childhood. The findings of this study provide substantive implications to social work practice by reinforcing the importance of community-based multilevel prevention and intervention programs that promote both neighborhood collective efficacy and alternatives to parental corporal punishment to prevent early behavior problems.
Family relations, 2016
Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community ... more Research that simultaneously examines the relationship of multiple types of family and community violence with youth outcomes is limited in the previous research literature, particularly in Latin America. This study examined the relationship of youth exposure to family and community violence-parental use of corporal punishment, violence in the community, intimate partner physical aggression-with eight subscales of the Youth Self Report among a Chilean sample of 593 youth-mother pairs. Results from multilevel models indicated a positive association between youth exposure to violence in the family and community, and a wide range of behavior problem outcomes, in particular, aggression. With growing evidence concerning the detrimental effect of violence on youth's well-being, these findings highlight the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the various kinds of violence youth are exposed to within the family and community and the concomitant need to reduce multiple forms o...
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2012
ABSTRACT Background and Purpose Prior research has identified an inverse association between livi... more ABSTRACT Background and Purpose Prior research has identified an inverse association between living in neighborhoods with a high level of crime and youth’s academic outcomes. As lower academic performance is reported to have a negative relationship with youth’s successful transition into adulthood, effective intervention that alleviates the negative influences of living in disadvantaged neighborhoods plagued by crime on youth’s academic performance is critical. Yet, this research is scant in Latin America. Grounded in a resiliency model, this study examined (a) the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and youth’s academic performance and (b) the extent to which sense of school belonging, parental monitoring, and family involvement buffered the relationship between neighborhood crime and youth academic outcomes. Method Data for this study are from 863 adolescents (ages 11-17, mean=14.3, SD=1.4) from municipalities of lower-middle to low socioeconomic status in Santiago, Chile. Data were analyzed with descriptive and ordered logistic regression analyses. The dependent variable was youth-reported grade repetition with an ordered response category (0=never, 1=once, 2=more than two times). Brant test was conducted to test the proportional odds assumption and results indicated that the assumption was not violated. The primary independent variable, neighborhood crime, was a composite score of three questions on youth perceptions of crime. Scores ranged from none to 15. Other independent variables included youth’s demographic information (e.g., gender, age, SES), individual- (self-esteem), school- (sense of school belonging), as well as family- (parental monitoring, family involvement) level factors. Results The prevalence of grade repetition in this sample was 19%, a higher percentage than that of other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (mean=13%). Results of the ordered logistic regression indicated a positive relationship between youth’s exposure to neighborhood crime and grade repetition (OR=1.13; 95% CI=1.07-1.18). This association was significant even after controlling for demographics, individual-, school- and family-level factors (OR=1.07; 95% CI=1.01-1.13). Youth who were older, males, and those of lower socio-economic status were more likely to repeat a grade compared to their counterparts. School belonging and parental monitoring were negatively associated with grade repetition. In addition, when youth were exposed to higher levels of neighborhood crime, the probability of repeating a grade was lower among youth with higher levels of parental monitoring and school belonging, suggesting the protective role of positive school and family level factors in the relationship between neighborhood crime and grade repetition. Conclusions The study findings demonstrate that youth’s exposure to neighborhood crime is positively associated with grade repetition among a sample of Chilean youth, even after controlling for demographic, individual, school and family characteristics. Interestingly, positive school and family factors were protective amidst the presence of crime in the neighborhood where the youth live. Consistent with social work’s person-in-environment framework, these findings point to the importance of comprehensive approaches at the educational practice and policy level to promoting youth academic performance by targeting changes at multiple levels that influence youth lives.
International Journal of Behavioral Development
Background and Objective: Sixty countries worldwide have banned the use of physical punishment, y... more Background and Objective: Sixty countries worldwide have banned the use of physical punishment, yet little is known about the association of physical and nonphysical forms of child discipline with child development in a global context. The objective of this study is to examine whether physical punishment and nonphysical discipline are associated with child socioemotional functioning in a global sample of families from 62 countries and whether country-level normativeness of physical punishment and nonphysical discipline moderated those associations. Methods: Data for this study are from 215,885 families in the fourth and fifth rounds of the United Nations Children’s Fund Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Bayesian multilevel logistic models were used to analyze the associations of physical punishment and nonphysical discipline (i.e., taking away privileges and verbal reasoning) with three different outcomes representing children’s socioemotional functioning: getting along well with ...
International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health, 2012
Parent-youth agreement on parental behaviors can characterize effective parenting. Although disco... more Parent-youth agreement on parental behaviors can characterize effective parenting. Although discordance in families may be developmentally salient and harmful to youth outcomes, predictors of discordance have been understudied, and existing research in this field has been mostly limited to North American samples. This paper addressed this literature gap by using data from a community-based study of Chilean adolescents. Analysis was based on 1,068 adolescents in Santiago, Chile. The dependent variable was discordance which was measured by the difference between parent and youth's assessment of parental monitoring. Major independent variables for this study were selected based on previous research findings that underscore youth's developmental factors, positive parental and familial factors and demographic factors. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the prevalence and associations between youth, parental and familial measures with parent-youth disc...
The Journal of Pediatrics
Child abuse & neglect, 2018
This study employed fixed effects regression that controls for selection bias, omitted variables ... more This study employed fixed effects regression that controls for selection bias, omitted variables bias, and all time-invariant aspects of parent and child characteristics to examine the simultaneous associations between neighborhood disorganization, maternal spanking, and aggressive behavior in early childhood using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Analysis was based on 2,472 children and their mothers who participated in Wave 3 (2001-2003; child age 3) and Wave 4 (2003-2006; child age 5) of the FFCWS. Results indicated that higher rates of neighborhood crime and violence predicted higher levels of child aggression. Maternal spanking in the past year, whether frequent or infrequent, was also associated with increases in aggressive behavior. This study contributes statistically rigorous evidence that exposure to violence in the neighborhood as well as the family context are predictors of child aggression. We conclude with a discussion for the need for ...
Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is stil... more Despite a great deal of evidence that corporal punishment is harmful, corporal punishment is still very prevalent worldwide. We examine predictors of different types of corporal punishment among Ukrainian mothers in 12 communities across Ukraine. Findings suggest that maternal spirituality, maternal coping styles, family communication, and some demographic characteristics are predictive of mothers' use of corporal punishment.
Children and Youth Services Review
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Children and Youth Services Review
Journal of Community Psychology