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1.
Report decision-making patterns among mandated child abuse reporters   总被引:3,自引:1,他引:2  
The goal of this investigation was to examine whether reporting decisions could be described by a coherent process that was consistent across incidents of suspected abuse. Using case vignettes imbedded in a national mail survey of mandated reporters, we examined the relationship between a series of judgments about the cases described in the vignettes and reporting intentions. These judgments included seriousness of the incident; whether the incident should be labeled "abuse" or "neglect"; whether the law would require a report; and whether the child and, separately, the rest of the family would benefit from a report. These five abuse-relevant judgments were strongly related to each other and together accounted for a substantial amount of the variance in reporting intentions. The law's demands most closely related to reporting intentions; benefits of reports were least closely related. Varimax rotation of a factor analysis revealed two factors: The first included seriousness, the abuse label, and the law's requirements, along with reporting intentions. The two benefit judgments loaded on the second factor. There were small differences in reporting judgments and patterns as a function of type of abuse. The implications of these findings for mandated reporter behavior are discussed.  相似文献   

2.
The maltreatment of adolescents   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
Official reports of maltreatment involving adolescent victims were compared to those involving younger children in a representative sample of protective services' reports drawn from New York State in 1985. Specific case characteristics, including age, gender, ethnicity of the victim, and source of report, are described and their relation to case substantiation is examined. Analyses revealed that adolescents represent a substantial proportion of all victims of official child maltreatment reports. The impact of age on substantiation varied as a function of the type of maltreatment, where for adolescents sexual abuse reports were more likely to be substantiated, while neglect and physical abuse reports were less likely to be substantiated. Reports involving adolescents were significantly more likely to involve a female victim. Significant gender differences in substantiation rate were found only for sexual abuse reports involving adolescents. White children were also found to be under-represented in this sample, while blacks were over-represented relative to their numbers in the population. The impact of minority status on substantiation was significant for neglect and physical abuse reports involving children. The majority of adolescent reports came from mandated sources, which had a significantly higher substantiation rate than reports from non-mandated sources.  相似文献   

3.
OBJECTIVE: According to mandatory reporting laws for professionals, the relationship between initial recognition that a child may have been abused and the subsequent reporting of that suspected case of child abuse to the responsible agency would, at first glance, appear to be clear. However, this relationship has developed into one of the major social policy controversies of the recent past. Our major goal is to present research findings that address this social policy debate concerning the problems of underreporting and overreporting, focusing specifically on teachers. METHOD: A factorial survey design, that combines the advantages of the factorial experiment with those of surveys, was employed in a probability sample of teachers (N=480) who responded to vignettes in which case characteristics were systematically manipulated. Teachers responded with judgments about whether the vignette was child abuse and the likelihood that they would report this suspected case. Characteristics of the teachers and their work setting (school) were also measured. RESULTS: When comparing the teachers' recognition and reporting scores, we found that they gave the same score for 63% of the vignettes they judged, gave higher reporting than recognition scores (overreporting) for 4% of the vignettes, and gave higher recognition than reporting scores (underreporting) for 33% of the vignettes. Discrepancies between recognition and reporting (over and under reporting) were related to characteristics of the case, teacher, and school where the teacher was employed. CONCLUSIONS: Teachers in our Ohio sample evidence the use of professional discretion in making judgments about the recognition and reporting of child abuse and do not appear to make these judgments with equal certainty. Their use of discretion is more likely to result in underreporting than overreporting.  相似文献   

4.
Child sexual abuse is a significant problem in many Indigenous communities; there is also evidence of chronic under-reporting of this crime. This study aimed to compare reporting rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cases of child sexual abuse across two Australian jurisdictions. Datasets comprising child sexual abuse reports from the Police Information Management Systems of the two jurisdictions were used to calculate reporting rates, and to compare case characteristics and case progression. Results indicated that the reporting rate for child sexual abuse of Indigenous children was between two and four times that of non-Indigenous children. In the Indigenous cases, the second jurisdiction had lower reporting rates than the first jurisdiction. Further analysis of the Indigenous cases only found that cases in the second jurisdiction were more severe, more likely to have a forensic interview, and more likely for the suspect to be charged, than in the first jurisdiction. However, there were no significant differences in conviction rates between the two jurisdictions. Differences observed in severity and case progression suggest that the lower reporting rates observed in the second jurisdiction may be due to comparatively high levels of under-reporting, rather than lower actual levels of child sexual abuse. In conclusion, reporting rates of child sexual abuse can be better understood when further information, such as case characteristics and case progression rates, is available.  相似文献   

5.
While adolescents report the highest rates of sexual abuse victimization, few studies have investigated how child sexual abuse (CSA) cases involving adolescent complainants may differ from cases involving child complainants. The current study draws on 3,430 allegations of CSA in Canada to compare abuse characteristics and judicial outcomes in cases involving adolescent complainants to cases involving child complainants. Adolescent complainants were more likely than child complainants to be abused by a stranger or a person with a community connection to the complainant, while children were more likely than adolescents to be abused by a parent or other relative. Furthermore, compared to child complainants, adolescent complainants were more frequently involved in the most intrusive offenses and their cases were more likely to involve violence. Both groups were most likely to disclose the abuse to a parent, though a greater proportion of children disclosed the abuse to a parent. There were no differences in the delay to disclosure. Accused were equally likely to plead “guilty” and to be convicted in cases involving child and adolescent complainants. However, offenders convicted of the most intrusive offenses received longer probation sentences when the complainant was a child than when the complainant was an adolescent. These findings have implications for ensuring appropriate support and services to adolescent victims of CSA.  相似文献   

6.
This study investigated the extent to which age, knowledge, attitudes toward aging, and perceptions of elder abuse influence elder abuse reporting trends. Using hypothetical scenarios, facts on elder abuse, reporting barriers, ageist attitudes, and other measures, survey data were collected from university students and elderly attendees at multiple senior centers. There were no generational differences in the cumulative rating severity score across all scenarios. However, students were more likely to report the abusive behavior to authorities. Abuse knowledge, recognition and severity, ageist attitudes, and perceived barriers were significantly correlated with a higher reporting score. Although students viewed financial exploration and self-neglect as less serious, when it came to physical and sexual abuse the decision to report to the authorities was comparable for the two groups. For both age groups, the unclear and inconsistent definitions of elder abuse and lack of sufficient proof were considered the major barriers to consistent reporting protocols. Compared to students, seniors were more likely to think reporting an abusive situation would only make things worse and, as a result, favored keeping the abuse private among family members. The majority of seniors also felt others in their own age group would deny the abuse if reported.  相似文献   

7.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether children who received child welfare services (e.g., in-home or out-of-home placement) were more or less likely to become incarcerated as serious and violent youthful offenders than those children who were investigated as victims of abuse and neglect but received no further child welfare intervention. METHOD: Administrative data on child abuse reporting, foster care, birth records, and juvenile corrections (CYA) were linked to prospectively examine the risk of incarceration as an adolescent following an investigation of abuse or neglect after age 6. The 10 county California sample included 159,549 school-aged children reported for abuse and neglect after 1990. RESULTS: About 8 per 1,000 children in the sample were later incarcerated in CYA. African American and Hispanic children who received in-home or foster care services after the index investigation event had a lower risk of incarceration than those whose cases were closed after the investigation. Among females, the rate of incarceration was highest for those who experienced foster or group care placements. Children initially reported for neglect were more likely to be incarcerated than those reported for physical or sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Public child welfare services have rarely been assessed in terms of future negative child outcomes. This study finds that one serious negative outcome, CYA involvement, can only be understood when a number of factors are considered. The importance of understanding the differences between how different subpopulations respond to services is highlighted. Specifically, our findings suggest that more attention should be focused on children who are now receiving no services after an investigated child abuse and neglect report, on females, and on victims of child neglect.  相似文献   

8.
The reporting of suspected CSA cases to authorities in a timely manner is important in preventing continued abuse and protecting abused children at early ages. The current study seeks to explore parents’ intentions of reporting their own children’s CSA experiences to authorities as well as their reporting willingness when they become aware of possible CSA cases happening to children in other families. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted among a sample of 26 parents in Beijing; these parents were purposefully selected so as to be diverse in terms of gender, age, and socioeconomic status. The data were analyzed thematically. The findings showed that the reporting of suspected CSA to authorities was a choice made by only a few Chinese parents; it was often even a last resort. By using a holistic-interactionistic approach, the interaction between Chinese parents’ intentions of reporting CSA and the Chinese socio-cultural context was analyzed as a dynamic and continuously ongoing process. The impacts of the definition and perceptions of CSA on reporting, the balance of children’s rights and parents’ power, and the double effect of informal social control are discussed. The implications, both locally and globally, are also discussed.  相似文献   

9.
Child sexual abuse is widespread and difficult to detect. To enhance case identification, many societies have enacted mandatory reporting laws requiring designated professionals, most often police, teachers, doctors and nurses, to report suspected cases to government child welfare agencies. Little research has explored the effects of introducing a reporting law on the number of reports made, and the outcomes of those reports. This study explored the impact of a new legislative mandatory reporting duty for child sexual abuse in the State of Western Australia over seven years. We analyzed data about numbers and outcomes of reports by mandated reporters, for periods before the law (2006–2008) and after the law (2009–2012). Results indicate that the number of reports by mandated reporters of suspected child sexual abuse increased by a factor of 3.7, from an annual mean of 662 in the three year pre-law period to 2448 in the four year post-law period. The increase in the first two post-law years was contextually and statistically significant. Report numbers stabilized in 2010–2012, at one report per 210 children. The number of investigated reports increased threefold, from an annual mean of 451 in the pre-law period to 1363 in the post-law period. Significant decline in the proportion of mandated reports that were investigated in the first two post-law years suggested the new level of reporting and investigative need exceeded what was anticipated. However, a subsequent significant increase restored the pre-law proportion, suggesting systemic adaptive capacity. The number of substantiated investigations doubled, from an annual mean of 160 in the pre-law period to 327 in the post-law period, indicating twice as many sexually abused children were being identified.  相似文献   

10.
Young Children's Understanding of Changes in Their Mental States   总被引:4,自引:1,他引:4  
3-year-old children have difficulty reporting their past false beliefs. We investigated their ability to remember and report other types of past mental state, in particular, pretenses, images, perceptions, desires, and intentions. In a series of tasks, children were placed in one mental state, that state was changed, and they were asked to report the initial state. 4-year-olds were generally able to report all their past mental states, including beliefs. 3-year-olds were able to report past pretenses, images, and perceptions extremely well. They had great difficulty reporting past beliefs. Reporting past desires and intentions was more difficult than reporting pretenses, images, and perceptions, but slightly less difficult than reporting beliefs. The evidence suggests that 3-year-olds have difficulty understanding the nature of representation.  相似文献   

11.
High turnover rates of early care and education teachers reduce the quality of education; unsatisfied teachers, suffering from stress or emotional exhaustion, are less equipped to promote children’s development and more likely to leave the classroom. We used data from a national survey of US early childhood educators (n?=?1129) to examine associations between teachers’ working conditions, well-being, and motivation with professional commitment and turnover intentions to move, leave, or remain. Multiple regression analyses revealed that more intrinsically motivated teachers were more likely to report intentions to move over leave, emotionally exhausted teachers were more likely to report intentions to leave, and lower teacher-reported working conditions predicted intentions to move or leave the field over staying. The results suggest that teachers’ well-being and perceived working conditions relate with their intentions to remain at their job or within the field and to their commitment to the profession.  相似文献   

12.

Objectives

A commonly cited risk factor for sexually intrusive behavior (SIB) among children and adolescents is a history of abuse. Based on a large and non-clinical nationwide sample of children who were investigated as abuse victims and suspects of SIBs in Israel over a decade, the present study examines the rate of abuse history among child suspects who have admitted SIBs. In addition, this study compares some personal and family characteristics as well as selected aspects of SIBs reported by children with and without a history of abuse. Abuse history is then used to predict the nature of SIBs after controlling for other predictors.

Methods

National data files of the investigation of alleged child victims and child suspects aged 14 or under were electronically merged, allowing the identification of a sub-group of suspects, out of all suspects, who had a record of child abuse. Using only confirmed cases of boys with SIBs, child suspects with a record of abuse were compared to the larger group of child suspects with no record of abuse.

Results

Of 3,554 child suspects of SIBs, 345 or 9.7% had a formal record of abuse. Boys with a record of abuse engaged in SIBs at a younger age; were more likely to display mental disabilities; more often belonged to large size, single-parent, low SES, and immigrant families and were more likely to be removed from home to alternative care than boys with no record of abuse. The nature of SIBs varied across the groups, with victim-suspects more likely than their counterparts to act repeatedly, and to do so alone rather than in the presence of others. Victim-suspects were more likely to involve in SIBs with younger children, with siblings, and with unrelated children. Most aspects of SIBs were predicted by abuse history after controlling for other predictors, with some differences between age groups being evident.

Conclusions

Although abuse history is uncommon among children displaying SIBs in this sample, it seems to affect the involvement of children at a younger age in more severe SIBs, posing a higher risk to other children.

Practical implications

The low rate of abuse history among boys with SIBs suggests that clinical assessors of SIBs in children should not assume that these children have been victims of abuse or that abuse is a necessary component in the development of SIBs. This implies that the exploration of past abuse in the assessment of children with SIBs is not always relevant and that trauma-related components in the treatment of these children should be selective. As past-abuse is less related to SIB's for older children, the clinical focus on abuse is even less relevant for older children. However, when boys with SIBs have been past-victims, they seem to be in greater need for treatment than other boys with SIBs. Moreover, the dynamics of SIBs by past victims should raise more concern for older than for younger children.  相似文献   

13.
OBJECTIVE: There are three general objectives: First, to determine the number of reports of abuse made by teachers, their knowledge of child abuse laws and reporting procedures, and their perceived deterrents in reporting abuse; second, to determine if there were gender or ethnic differences in reporting; and third, to evaluate teachers responses to case vignettes. METHOD: A survey of 197 teachers was conducted. They were given a questionnaire that included demographic information, knowledge of child abuse laws and procedures, and two scenarios of legally reportable child abuse. RESULTS: Seventy-three percent of this sample reported that they had never made a report of child abuse, while those who had made reports made an average of one report. Only 11% of teachers reported that there were instances in which they believed abuse may have occurred, but failed to report. Additionally, these teachers felt that their pre- and post-service training did not adequately prepare them for abuse reporting. The most common reasons cited for not reporting abuse were fear of making an inaccurate report, feeling as though child protective services do not help families, and no apparent physical signs of abuse. There were no gender differences in reporting. The teachers' responses to the case vignettes were not consistent with their previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: In general, most teachers reported having never made a child abuse report. Although only a small percentage of teachers reported failing to report abuse, when presented with legally reportable case vignettes, many failed to report. The majority of teachers report receiving inadequate training in child abuse signs, symptoms, and reporting procedure. There is an obvious need for more education for teachers that addresses their perceived deterrents and aids them in feeling more confident in making reports of child abuse.  相似文献   

14.
15.
Lau JT  Liu JL  Yu A  Wong CK 《Child abuse & neglect》1999,23(11):1159-1174
OBJECTIVE: To understand the conceptualization of child abuse and attitudes on reporting behaviors of Hong Kong adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional telephone survey of 1,001 randomly selected subjects. MAIN RESULTS: There is a discrepancy between perceived prevalence and the ability to name different child abuse types without prompting: 79.9% named physical abuse, while 41.2% felt it was common: 21.0% named child neglect, while 76.9% felt it was common; 13.4% named psychological abuse, while 47.4% felt it was common; 6.8% named sexual abuse, while 23.5% felt it was common. Most respondents classified severe physical abuse situations as abusive (e.g., "severely injuring a child"). Other scenarios such as "mildly injuring a child" and neglect and psychological abuse scenarios (e.g., "leaving a young child alone at home" and "shouting at a child often") were often not classified as abusive. As regards case-reporting behavior, only about 40% would report abuse cases to authorities. Those who would not report abuse were less likely to classify abuse situations as abusive and more likely to think that seeking help is difficult, troublesome and unhelpful. CONCLUSIONS: The official reported prevalence figures for child abuse in Hong Kong should be interpreted with care, because underreporting is likely to be serious. Hong Kong people's conceptualization and awareness of what comprises child abuse is found to differ from official definitions. They are reluctant to report abuse cases, due to their perceived low efficacy of case reporting. Both the difference in conceptualization and the reluctance to report might partly be attributable to Chinese culture.  相似文献   

16.
This study relies on data from 388 junior and senior criminal justice majors to examine predictors of intentions to pursue graduate education in criminology, criminal justice, or a closely related field. Logistic regression results demonstrate that women, students who receive greater encouragement to attend graduate school, students with a lower aversion to reading, writing, and statistics, and students who perceive greater diversity intolerance are more likely to report graduate school intentions. Although students’ race was not found to be significant in the overall model, split-sample models revealed that the significance of predictors varied by race and ethnicity. In discussing the findings, special attention is given to the need for primarily White institutions (PWIs) to partner with historically Black college and universities (HBCUs). We conclude by calling for departments to redouble their efforts to diversify their faculty and student bodies.  相似文献   

17.
The outcome of experiencing abuse as a child was studied by comparing pregnant women who did recall versus those who did not recall this type of maltreatment. Fourteen hundred low income women were interviewed in prenatal clinic; those who said they were both punished by abuse and beaten by caretakers as children were considered abused. Abuse was recalled by more white than black women but families were followed after delivery and protective service reports of abuse for their offspring were equal. Because of low numbers, black subjects were dropped and the 95 white women who recalled abuse during childhood were compared to the remaining 832 white subjects. The groups did not differ in attitude about current pregnancy, age or marital status, and no differences were found for their children at birth. Abused mothers were more likely to have felt unwanted and unloved as children and to have lower self-images and more isolation than controls. Abused mothers had greater stress, and many of their stresses reflected disturbances in interpersonal relationships. Thus, women abused as children had some characteristics similar to those of known child abusers. Although abused women had more aggressive tendencies, their children were reported to protective services for abuse at the same frequency as control children. Intergenerational transmission of abuse was therefore not demonstrated prospectively. Classic theories of child abuse suggest a special child, special parent and stress act as independent agents to cause abuse. The above data suggest, alternatively, that abuse during childhood may lead to other risk characteristics and to greater stress. These may act together to increase risk for abuse. The special child may have an independent influence on abuse.  相似文献   

18.
The child abuse reporting records of 616 children seen by the child abuse team in a metropolitan children's hospital were analyzed. Boys were referred for abuse more often than girls, and black children were reported disproportionately more often than were white children. Mothers were the most frequent perpetrators of abuse, although males constituted more than half of the abusers. Bruises were the most frequent manifestation of abuse. The types of injury, injury site and types of instruments used varied with the age and race, but not the sex of the child. The wide variety of instruments used to perpetrate child abuse resulted in a broad spectrum of injury types. If professionals are to recognize common and early manifestations of child abuse, they must be aware of the influence of regional socioeconomic and cultural factors on the spectrum of child abuse.  相似文献   

19.
OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of different forms of family violence at two developmental stages by assessing a sample of 110 Israeli children, drawn from the case files of Israeli family service agencies, studied longitudinally in both middle childhood and adolescence. METHODS: Information about the children's adjustment was obtained from parents, teachers, and the children themselves when the children averaged 10.6 and 15.9 years of age using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF), Youth Self-Report (YSR), and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Information about the history of family violence was obtained from the mothers, fathers, children, and social workers. RESULTS: The results paint a mixed picture of the effects of family violence on children and adolescents. The relationship between concurrent behavior problems and abuse group varied by informant and study phase, although they were strongest when children were the informants. Predictions regarding the relationship between early abuse and later adjustment were only partially confirmed. Different informants did not agree about which groups of children were most adversely affected, there was little stability over time in the pattern of reported effects, and children were more likely than other informants to report levels of maladjustment that varied depending on recent or concurrent exposure to family violence. Many families changed their abuse status over time, and children who were new victims at follow-up had the most internalizing problems. Girls were found to be at more risk for internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than boys. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple informants are necessary to evaluate and assess the effects of family violence on children's behavior. Younger children may be more susceptible to the effects of family violence than older children, but problems manifest by some children may not carry over to adolescence. Changes in family and parenting practices, as well as in children's capacity to appraise and cope with family violence may help mitigate the adverse effects of family violence.  相似文献   

20.
A major challenge in cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) is determining the credibility of children's reports. Consequently cases may be misclassified as false or deemed ‘no judgment possible’. Based on a large national sample of reports of CSA made in Israel in 2014, the study examines child and event characteristics contributing to the probability that reports of abuse would be judged credible. National data files of all children aged 3–14, who were referred for investigation following suspected victimization of sexual abuse, and had disclosed sexual abuse, were analyzed. Cases were classified as either ‘credible’ or ‘no judgment possible’. The probability of reaching a ‘credible’ judgment was examined in relation to characteristics of the child (age, gender, cognitive delay, marital status of the parents,) and of the abusive event (abuse severity, frequency, perpetrator–victim relationship, perpetrator's use of grooming, and perpetrator's use of coercion), controlling for investigator's identity at the cluster level of the analysis. Of 1563 cases analyzed, 57.9% were assessed as credible. The most powerful predictors of a credible judgment were older age and absence of a cognitive delay. Reports of children to married parents, who experienced a single abusive event that involved perpetrator's use of grooming, were also more likely to be judged as credible. Rates of credible judgments found are lower than expected suggesting under-identification of truthful reports of CSA. In particular, those cases of severe and multiple abuse involving younger and cognitively delayed children are the ones with the lowest chances of being assessed as credible.  相似文献   

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