Building Bridges: The Collaborative Development of Culturally Appropriate Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect for the South Asian Community

This study emerged from concerns raised by providers of social services to South Asians-Canadians that many of their clients experienced many problems with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) during child welfare interventions. These service providers felt that problems arose because of a lack of understanding of the norms, values and parenting approaches of the group. A mixed-method exploratory study was conducted with 29 South Asian parents, 18 mothers and 11 fathers, to understand the discipline styles and help-seeking approaches of South Asian-Canadian parents, what they perceive as unique about their parenting approaches and the issues that they confront in raising children in Canada.