Risks for child maltreatment have been found to be elevated in rural (cf. urban) areas. While previous research indicates that neighborhood processes can protect against child maltreatment, how such processes may uniquely operate in rural settings remains unclear. The vast majority of research on informal social control processes has focused on urban areas with very few studies examining how such processes in rural areas may uniquely influence responses to child maltreatment. To address knowledge gaps in this area, the present qualitative study examined the perceptions of parents living in a rural Midwestern county. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 caregivers from Livingston County, Michigan, U.S. Regarding informal social control, participants were asked a series of questions regarding how they would intervene in an instance of suspected child maltreatment in their community. Thematic analysis revealed several strengths and barriers to perceiving and intervening in child maltreatment in rural settings, including close social ties, a culture of silence, maltreatment severity, and ecological challenges. These findings highlight potential reasons for which informal social control processes may differ in rural settings. Social workers may bolster child maltreatment prevention efforts in rural areas by acknowledging unique barriers and potential strengths to leverage in such communities. The current study adds to the body of work to understand rural child maltreatment, by exploring the responses to maltreatment within rural contexts; an area that has not yet been examined.

研究发现，农村（比较城市）地区虐待儿童的风险较高。虽然之前的研究表明，邻里程序可以防止虐待儿童，但此类程序在农村环境中如何独特运作仍不清楚。关于非正式社会控制过程的绝大多数研究都集中在城市地区，很少有研究探讨农村地区的此类过程如何独特地影响对虐待儿童的反应。为了解决这一领域的知识差距，本定性研究调查了居住在中西部农村县的父母的看法。对来自美国密歇根州利文斯顿县的 26 名护理人员进行了半结构化访谈。关于非正式社会控制，参与者被问及一系列有关他们将如何干预社区中涉嫌虐待儿童的事件的问题。专题分析揭示了在农村环境中感知和干预儿童虐待的一些优势和障碍，包括密切的社会关系、沉默文化、虐待严重性和生态挑战。这些发现强调了农村环境中非正式社会控制过程可能不同的潜在原因。社会工作者可以通过承认农村地区的独特障碍和利用这些社区的潜在优势来加强农村地区儿童虐待预防工作。目前的研究通过探索农村环境中对虐待的反应，增加了了解农村儿童虐待的工作；尚未审查的领域。