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Multidisciplinary child protection decision making about physical abuse: Determining substantiation thresholds and biases

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  • Jent, Jason F.
  • Eaton, Cyd K.
  • Knickerbocker, Lauren
  • Lambert, Walter F.
  • Merrick, Melissa T.
  • Dandes, Susan K.

Abstract

The current study examined the threshold at which multidisciplinary child protection team (CPT) professionals substantiate physical abuse allegations and the extent that they utilize potentially biased constructs in their decision making when presented with the same case evidence. State legal definitions of child maltreatment are broad. Therefore, the burden of interpretation is largely on CPT professionals who must determine at what threshold physical acts by parents surpass corporal discipline and constitute child physical abuse. Biased or subjective decisions may be made if certain case-specific characteristics or CPT professionals' personal characteristics are used in making physical abuse determinations. Case vignettes with visual depictions of inflicted injuries were sent to CPT professionals in Florida and their substantiation decisions, personal beliefs about corporal discipline, and coercive discipline were collected. Results of the study demonstrated relatively high agreement among professionals across vignettes about what constitutes physical abuse. Further, CPT professionals strongly considered their perceptions of the severity of inflicted injuries in substantiation decisions. Although case specific characteristics did not bias decisions in a systematic way, some CPT professional characteristics influenced the substantiation of physical abuse. Practice implications and future directions of research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jent, Jason F. & Eaton, Cyd K. & Knickerbocker, Lauren & Lambert, Walter F. & Merrick, Melissa T. & Dandes, Susan K., 2011. "Multidisciplinary child protection decision making about physical abuse: Determining substantiation thresholds and biases," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1673-1682, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:33:y:2011:i:9:p:1673-1682
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bolton, Annalese & Lennings, Chris, 2010. "Clinical opinions of structured risk assessments for forensic child protection: The development of a clinically relevant device," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 1300-1310, October.
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    1. Son, Heimi & Lee, Young Ae & Ahn, Dong Hyun & Doan, Stacey N., 2017. "Maternal understanding of child discipline and maltreatment in the United States, South Korea, and Japan," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 444-454.
    2. Stoddart, J.K. & Fallon, B. & Trocmé, N. & Fluke, J., 2018. "Substantiated Child Maltreatment: Which factors do workers focus on when making this critical decision?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Alfandari, Ravit, 2019. "Multi-professional work in child protection decision-making: An Israeli case study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 51-57.
    4. Sigad, Laura I. & Beker, Guy & Lev-Wiesel, Rachel & Eisikovits, Zvi, 2019. "“Alone with our interpretations”: Uncertainty in child abuse intervention among healthcare professionals," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 206-213.

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