Substantiation of reported child abuse or neglect: predictors and implications. |
| |
Authors: | H R Winefield P W Bradley |
| |
Institution: | Department of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, South Australia. |
| |
Abstract: | Underreporting and overreporting of suspected child abuse and neglect cases reduce the efficiency of child protection services. We used all the reports in South Australia for 1988-1989 (N = 3,228) to study the determinants of the decision by child protection workers to register a reported incident as being one of child abuse and neglect. Logistic regression showed that registration (substantiation) was predictable from two variables: the age of the alleged victim and the caseworker's estimate of severity. This latter variable needs investigation, as despite its crucial role we have no information on how caseworkers form a judgment about severity. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|