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Factors influencing psychologists’ decisions to report child abuse: A pilot study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Michelle K. Turner  and
Ann Knowles
Michelle K. Turner
Affiliation:
Swinburne University of Technology
Ann Knowles*
Affiliation:
Swinburne University of Technology
*
Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn Victoria 3122, Phone: +61 (03) 9214 8205, Fax: +61 (03) 9819 0574, E-mail: aknowles@swin.edu.au
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Abstract

This exploratory study investigated factors influencing psychologists’ decisions to report child abuse. Sixty Victorian psychologists, most of whom had experience with alleged child abuse situations, completed a questionnaire that presented vignettes in which a father denied abusing his daughter. The father's level of denial was varied between angry denial with no acknowledgment of any problems and denial combined with acknowledging problems existed. After each vignette, the psychologists answered questions relating to the incident and general questions dealing with reporting of child abuse. Participants were more likely to report in the vignette when the father angrily denied the abuse as compared to denial with an acknowledgment that problems existed. In deciding whether abuse had occurred, psychologists gave most weight to their confidence that she was being abused. Psychologists who had reported an actual case of child abuse were more likely to report in the hypothetical situation. Generally, respondents supported the introduction of mandatory reporting of child abuse, although some expressed concerns about the quality of community services in this area.

Keywords

Psychologistsreporting child abuse
Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , November 1999 , pp. 62 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1999

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