Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Child abuse Victoria Decision making'

This study investigated decision making factors used by child caregivers to identify suspected child abuse and neglect and collected data on caregiver training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect. Data was collected in July 1999 in fourteen north Texas childcare programs. One hundred twenty three teaching and administrative staff completed a survey based on Jacobson, A., Glass, J. and Ruggiere, P. (1998). Five teachers and five administrators chosen for convenience were read eleven vignettes describing possibly abusive situations to decide whether they were reportable or non-reportable, and to indicate factors used to make their decisions. Administrators (50%) and teachers (13.3%) reported being unfamiliar with child abuse and neglect definitions and reporting laws. Two thirds (66.7%) of the administrators and 39.8% of the teachers had received specific training in recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. Administrators were more likely than teachers to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Teachers often reported to program administrators rather than state designated authorities. All subjects relied on information about children, but administrators also used information about parents, with teachers more likely to make excuses for parental actions. With 110 reporting opportunities, training was cited as a factor only twice by administrators. No teachers made reports to anyone other than program administrators, a factor named deference in this study. Four of five administrators expected deference from teachers when reporting decisions were made. Present training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect is inadequate. Caregivers need additional training in differences between accidental and intentional injuries, detection of child sexual abuse and emotional neglect, recognition and assessment of injuries among infants and toddlers, and mandated reporting procedures. Further research on optimal training for accurate reporting of suspected abuse and neglect is needed. A mandate to report to authorities outside the child care center should be clarified in state law. Licensing individuals as well as programs would strengthen reporting by caregivers.

Despite being mandated reporters by law, preschool teachers often fail to report suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Although research has been conducted regarding reasons why teachers do not report, no study has yet examined preschool teachers’ thinking as decisions are being made. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the in-the-moment decision-making process of preschool teachers to report or not report cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. Three research questions guided this exploration of teachers’ responses to cases of possible child abuse or neglect, the reasons teachers give for their responses, and their confidence in the correctness of their decisions to report or not to report child abuse or neglect. The conceptual framework for this study was the ethical decision-making model of Meneghetti and Seel. The research was a phenomenological study using the think aloud protocol of van Someren, Barnard, and Sandberg. Three scenarios of possible child abuse cases were used as the basis for the face-to-face interviews in which 6 lead preschool teachers described their thought processes. The purposeful sample comprised 6 lead teachers in a major city in the United States with children aged 2 through 5. A thematic analysis method and coding strategy were used to answer the research questions. The findings in this study were consistent with the literature in that most of the teachers did not elect to report their suspicion of child abuse or neglect, but were inhibited by lack of clear understanding of what constitutes abuse and neglect, and by a desire for more information. This study contributes to positive social change by indicating a need for more training of preschool teachers in their mandated reporter role, which can result in more confident decision making and greater success in protecting young children.

Child protective services begin with an intake (screening) decision to accept or reject maltreatment reports. This crucial decision may lead to significant positive or negative outcomes for children and families. Little is known about characteristics that intake decision-makers share or factors that influence the decision-making process. Racially-biased intake practices have been blamed for contributing to African American children’s disproportionate overrepresentation in the child welfare system. Concerns have emerged that social workers may hold negative stereotypes about African Americans and parents who use drugs. Stereotypical biases may influence decisions in reports alleging parental drug use and/or involving African American families. This study was conducted to examine the influence of race and parental drug-use allegations on intake decision-making. It was also conducted to identify factors that influence decision-making and to determine whether concepts drawn from naturalistic decision theory and attribution theory are relevant to intake decision-making. A conceptual model for describing decision-making was proposed and tested. Equivalent materials design was employed. Respondents completed an on-line questionnaire that included 24 vignettes describing hypothetical maltreatment concerns. Race and drug use were manipulated between two instrument versions. Respondents completed a 45-item scale measuring racial and parental drug use bias. They also described their application of policy to decision-making and the degree to which they engaged in different types of mental simulation (a naturalistic decision theory strategy) in making decisions. Eighty-seven child protective services intake decision-makers in Virginia participated (67% response rate). The findings suggest that respondents’ decisions were not influenced by racial bias but were influenced by parental drug use bias. Respondents’ parental drug use bias scores were higher than their racial bias scores. Social workers’ racial bias scores were higher than other respondents’ scores. A set of nine primary decision-factors used frequently in decision-making was identified. Finally, respondents reported using their discretion in adhering to CPS policy depending upon their concern for children’s safety. The research contributes to understanding the intake decision-making process. Findings related to worker characteristics, relevant decision-factors, and decision-making behaviors may influence practice and future research. Findings also suggest that naturalistic decision theory concepts warrant further attention and study.

Decisions made in Youth Protection cases are influenced by many different factors that have been outlined in previous research. Assessment tools, definitions of risk and the overarching cultural milieu intermingle to inform the decision-making process and, ultimately the final decision. This research seeks to explore the factors that affect the decision-making process and is intended to build on previous research. By qualitatively analyzing the transcripts from actual decision-making meetings, and talking to the participants about their experiences within the research it was shown that the decision-making process is a complicated one. The roles of the participants within the organization along with the pervasive culture of blame within society seem to primarily affect the dynamics of the people responsible for making the decisions. The effect that these factors have on the actual decision was not studied but would be beneficial to examine. Workers within the organization, especially caseworkers, struggled with wanting more autonomy while simultaneously reported not wanting the responsibility that coincides with it. It is felt that more responsibility would ultimately mean more possibility of blame.

The number of notifications of child abuse is increasing rapidly so that, if the present trend continues, Australian child protection services will receive over half a million notifications of suspected child abuse in the year 2007, ten years hence. This trend has implications for teachers who contact children on a daily basis. Teachers have a duty of care for the children who are compelled to attend school, yet teachers currently have a poor record of reporting. The current preparation of Australian teachers for. participation in child protection is inconsistent with mandatory reporting requirements and inadequate for teachers' child protection role. It was assumed that the aim of child protection training should be to improve teachers' child protection decision making, consequently, the purpose of the present study was to illuminate and analyse preservice teachers' child protection decision making at the point of entry to their preservice course. In so doing, the study focused specifically on the nature of participants' knowledge, beliefs, perceptions and experiences likely to influence their child protection decisions. The literature was reviewed for the purpose of identifying existing child protection programs and factors known to inhibit or enhance teachers' decisions to report suspected abuse. Since the purpose of the study was to understand and illuminate participants' subjective knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, and experiences, and the likely influence of these factors on child protection decision making, an interpretive orientation was used. Data collection methods included the administration of questionaries, presentation of a videotaped child protection scenario as a stimulus to discussion, transcription and analysis of small group discussions, and a reflective activity. Findings indicated that preservice teachers' intuitive decision making was dependent primarily on their interpersonal perceptions of the stakeholders, their personal beliefs, and their past experiences which interacted with each other. Knowledge played only a minimal role. The findings of the study contribute to the child protection literature by linking the role of beliefs, perceptions, knowledge and experiences with teachers' decision making in relation to child protection. Robinson's (1993) Problem-Based Methodology was used to develop a child protection curriculum framework for use by teacher educators in preservice teacher education from the findings of the study. The findings illuminated how preservice teachers make child protection decisions at the point of entry to their preservice course. The study is significant in that it found that knowledge played a limited role in child protection decision making, suggesting that programs which aim to improve teachers' knowledge of definitions, signs and reporting procedures can be expected to be ineffective. On the other hand, programs which also consider the role of teachers' beliefs, experiences and perceptions are more likely to be effective. The findings imply that preservice child protection programs should include not only the skills necessary for child protection decision making, but also a metacognitive understanding of the decision making process in order to advance preservice teachers from intuitive to more rational bases of child protection decision making.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that affect social workers' decision-making in the medical setting. Social workers, working in the are of child abuse and African- American families, from the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Case vignettes were used to examine the relationship between a series of decision-making about the cases described in he vignettes. Dependent variables are the perception and judgement of the social workers. Independent variables are characteristics of the social worker, such as: Education, ethnicity age marital status, children, sex, socio-economic status time in the field, personal experience with corporal punishment, and working experience in child abuse. Thirty-seven social workers from five hospitals in the Metropolitan Atlanta area responded to the questionnaire. This research model used practice case vignettes for analyzing decision-making in child abuse. This model has implications for other medical and child protective agencies by proving: 1) training for staff in decision-making in child abuse, and 2) classroom teaching in schools of social work for both undergraduate and graduate students. These could enhance social workers' skills and increase their knowledge in the practices in the area of child abuse.

In spite of a paradigm shift redefining domestic minors trafficked through prostitution as victims instead of criminal offenders, many police officers experience uncertainty in the way they evaluate the nature of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) and assess the culpability status of prostituted minors. This problem often results in revictimizing children and hindering their ability to access needed services. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore police officers' perceptions of minors engaged in prostitution and derive an understanding of the experiences, beliefs, and values that underlie these perceptions. The study also focused on how these factors influence police decision making regarding DMST. Attribution theory provided the framework. Participants included 4 police detectives assigned to a youth sex trafficking unit in a large city in the western region of the United States. Data were derived from individual interviews and significant documents. Coding and category construction were utilized to analyze single cases, and content analysis was used to analyze documents. Through cross-case analysis, data from all cases and sources were examined for common themes and discrepancies. The study's findings indicated all respondents perceived minors involved in prostitution as victims and that police empathy influenced perceptions and police decision making. The results of the study will potentially facilitate positive social change through advancing a deeper awareness of the nature of DMST and informing law enforcement policy and practices.

Bakgrund Barn som far illa är ett globalt folkhälsoproblem där mörkertalet är stort. All form av våld leder till livslånga konsekvenser för barn som utsätts, och de berättar sällan självmant om levnadsförhållanden när dessa är annat än goda. Vilket gör att sjuksköterskors professionella ansvar är betydelsefullt i mötet med utsatta barn. En av sjuksköterskans kärnkompetenser är personcentrerad vård där ett helhetsperspektiv kring barnet bör beaktas, då ett ansvar att identifiera och en skyldighet att anmäla vid misstanke om att barn far illa föreligger. Syfte Syftet var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser av faktorer som inverkar på beslutet att orosanmäla vid misstanke eller vetskap av att ett barn far illa. Metod Föreliggande litteraturöversikt har genomförts med 17 inkluderade studier av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ studiedesign. Datainsamlingen genomfördes i databaserna Public MEDLINE och Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Studierna kvalitetsgranskades därefter utifrån Sophiahemmet Högskola bedömningsunderlag, på vilken en integrerad analys användes för bearbetning av resultatet. Resultat Litteraturöversiktens resultat beskrevs utifrån tre huvudkategorier: sjuksköterskans kunskap och perception av barn som far illa, sjuksköterskans erfarenhet av anmälningsprocessen samt sjuksköterskans arbetsmiljö. Med tillhörande subkategorier beskrev dessa sjuksköterskans upplevelser av faktorer som inverkade på beslutet huruvida sjuksköterskan genomförde en orosanmälan eller ej. Slutsats Sjuksköterskors erfarenhet, personliga inställning till området samt rådande lagstiftning i respektive land var faktorer som inverkade vid processen kring orosanmälningar. Resultatet visade behov av stöd och hjälp i processen som rör handhavandet kring barn som far illa. Vidden av detta globala folkhälsoproblem bör uppmärksammas då en utebliven orosanmälan bidrog till ytterligare lidande för det redan utsatta barnet. Flertalet sjuksköterskor saknade kunskap i det medföljande juridiska ansvar en orosanmälan kräver, vilket uppmärksammade behovet av adekvat utbildning och uppdaterad klinisk färdighetsträning.
Background Child maltreatment is a global public health problem where the hidden statistics are extensive. All forms of violence lead to lifelong consequences for children who are exposed, and they rarely disclose their living conditions as these are anything but good. This means that nurses' professional responsibilities are important in meeting with vulnerable children. One of the nurse's core competencies is person-centered care, where a holistic perspective on the child should be considered, as there is a responsibility to identify and an obligation to report in the event of suspicion that a child is being harmed. Aim The aim was to describe nurses' experiences of factors that influence the decision of mandatory reporting to suspected or confirmed child maltreatment. Method The literature review has been conducted with 17 included studies of both qualitative and quantitative study design. The data collection was conducted in the databases Public MEDLINE and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. The studies were then quality-examined based on Sophiahemmet University's assessment data, on which an integrated analysis was used to process the results. Results The results of the literature review are described based on three main categories: the nurse's knowledge and perception of child maltreatment, the nurse's experience of the registration process, and the nurse's working environment. With associated subcategories, these describe the nurse's experience of factors that may influence the decision whether the nurse makes a report on child maltreatment or not. Conclusions Nurses' experience, personal attitude to the field, and prevailing legislation in each country are factors that influence the process of reporting regarding concerns about child maltreatment. The results showed the need for support and help in the process of dealing with child maltreatment. The extent of this global public health problem should be noted, as a failure to report contributes to further suffering for the already vulnerable child. Most nurses lacked knowledge of the legal responsibilities required to report a concern of child maltreatment, which drew attention to the need for adequate education and up-to-date clinical skills training.

The aim of this study was to examine how professionals within Swedish child and youth department of social services reason regarding the establishment of a police report when they suspect that children have been exposed to violence. The aim of this study was also to examine if the professionals' experience that an established police report tends to influence their ongoing social investigations in any way. A thematic analysis was conducted based on six qualitative semi structured interviews with professionals working within the child and youth department of social services from two different workplaces. The empirical data was analyzed in relation to previous research regarding the topic of the study and selected theories. The theories that formed the basis for the analysis were Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy and Normative ethics in terms of Consequence ethics, Duty-based ethics and Situational ethics which are derived from various philosophers. The results of the study show that the professionals when they consider whether a police report should be filed or not reason about several different factors, making their assessments complex and difficult to describe in generalized terms. Some factors described as influencing their assessments are the degree of clarity in the received information, the severity of the suspected violence and the child's age and ability to tell about what they have experienced. The professionals also reason about possible consequences a police report may result in, in both positive and negative sense, which also influence their assessments. When making these assessments the professionals possess a relatively high degree of discretion using mainly consequence ethics and situational ethics. Further the result show that the ongoing social investigations are significantly affected by an established police report. The impact consists of difficulties in establishing a good alliance with the family and having to deal with the parents’ trauma. The social investigation is also affected by the parallel ongoing police process, because of the existing confidentiality during the preliminary police investigation.

Enligt svensk lag har förskoleanställda en obligatorisk skyldighet att anmäla till socialtjänsten vid misstanke om att ett barn far illa. Trots detta uteblir många anmälningar även när misstanke finns. Syftet med denna studie är främst att undersöka och öka förståelsen för vilka faktorer förskoleanställda själva anser påverka deras beslut att anmäla misstankar om att ett barn far illa. Vidare undersöks hur väl förskoleanställdas tankemönster kring barn som far illa samt deras egen roll i "anmälningsprocessen" överensstämmer med de överlevnadsstrategier som definierats av Dr. Kari Killén. Studien genomfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra respondenter som arbetade på samma förskola. Resultaten jämfördes med tidigare forskning kring ämnet och Dr. Killéns psykologiska perspektiv om olika överlevnadsstrategier. Resultatet analyserades och jämfördes även med det sociologiska perspektivet Symbolisk interaktionism. I sitt beslut om huruvida respondenterna anmälde misstanke om att ett barn far illa eller inte ansåg de själva sig påverkas av osäkerhet och rädsla att missta sig, stöd från kollegor och chefer, relationen och lojaliteten hos föräldrarna eller att föräldrarna t.o.m. byter förskola. De ansåg sig även påverkas av personliga erfarenheter (delvis av socialtjänsten), socioekonomisk status samt handlingsplaner. Starka kopplingar till både den tidigare forskningen, Symbolisk interaktionism samt Dr. Killéns överlevnadsstrategier kunde även påvisas.
According to Swedish law, pre-school staff has a mandatory duty to notify social services if they suspect that a child is mistreated. Despite this, many fail to report even when suspicions have arisen. The primarily aim of this study is to investigate and gain greater understanding of the factors considered by preschool staff when deciding whether to report suspicions of a child being mistreated. Their own thoughts regarding their tendency to report such suspicions are therefore further investigated. The paper also explores whether the thoughts of preschool staff regarding child abuse and their own role in the reporting process correspond with the survival strategies described by Dr. Kari Killén. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with four respondents who worked at the same preschool. The results were compared with previous research in the field, the sociological perspective Symbolic interactionism and the psychological perspective of different survival strategies defined by Dr. Killén. 3 When deciding whether to report suspicions of child mistreating the respondents considered themselves to be influenced by insecurity and fear of making mistakes, losing support from colleagues and managers, destroying relationships and loyalty with the parents or even making them change preschool. They also thought they would be affected by personal experiences (partly of social services), socioeconomic status, as well as action plans. A strong connection to the previous research, Symbolic interactionism and Dr. Killéns survival strategies was revealed by the interviews.

The incidence of sexual assault inundates the courts with many cases each year. Given the unique nature of the crime, judges and juries are faced with an array of different scenarios to which they are required to make fair, justifiable and consistent decisions. I examine child sexual assault cases of Dallas County 1999-2005, I look at both legal and extralegal factors including case characteristics, institutional characteristics and characteristics of the defendants and the victims. First, I examine the impact of the independent variables on sentence length using regression analysis to determine influences on sentencing for judges and juries. Second, I examine the same factors using Probit analysis to determine which characteristics make a life sentence more probable for those decision-makers.

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia Aplicada
Os maus-tratos infantis constituem um problema social, real e complexo, com consequências profundas tanto para as crianças como para as suas famílias, a curto e longo prazo. Por esta razão, é essencial entender as decisões dos profissionais que visam proteger as crianças e os jovens em risco após a ocorrência de maus-tratos infantis. A presente tese surge como uma tentativa de compreender melhor esta realidade. É constituída por três estudos que têm como denominador comum os processos de tomada de decisão em situações de maus-tratos infantis. Especificamente, procurou compreender-se a posição de diferentes intervenientes como, por exemplo, juízes e psicólogos no que respeita a situações de maustratos infantis. Por ser um processo moroso e complexo com uma multitude de informação disponível, é importante compreender o processamento dessa mesma informação e possíveis influências associadas. A tese é composta por três estudos: Uma revisão da literatura e dois estudos empíricos. O primeiro estudo assume-se especificamente como uma revisão sistemática da literatura que foca as características que podem influenciar a decisão dos juízes (e.g., características dos juízes), bem como os modelos que, eventualmente, esses profissionais utilizam como orientação no momento da tomada de decisão. Foi possível verificar alguma consistência quanto à referência de algumas características situacionais que influenciam significativamente o processo de tomada de decisão, como os fatores relativos aos juízes (e.g., religião), à vítima (e.g., idade), ao ofensor (e.g., género) e ao contexto (e.g., regras e leis). Apesar de existir uma tendência de utilização de modelos que abrangem os sistemas legal, político e social e também os valores pessoais, a revisão sistemática sugere a inexistência de um modelo consensual que represente o processo da tomada de decisão dos juízes na íntegra. O segundo estudo aborda a opinião de diferentes profissionais habitualmente envolvidos no processo de tomada de decisão de situações de maus-tratos infantis (e.g., psicólogos, assistentes sociais). Analisou-se não só a perspetiva dos participantes relativamente à panóplia de serviços disponibilizados na realidade portuguesa como também face aos diferentes profissionais envolvidos. Foi ainda estudada a opinião relativa a um conjunto de características específicas das situações de maus-tratos infantis (e.g., psicopatologia dos pais). Características como a gravidade, duração e recorrência do abuso foram consideradas as mais importantes, sendo a menos importante das variáveis em estudo o nível socioeconómico das famílias. Foram ainda encontradas associações significativas entre diversas variáveis em estudo, nomeadamente profissão dos participantes e serviços sugeridos e local de trabalho e características situacionais. O terceiro estudo constituiu uma análise comparativa quanto ao papel da experiência académica na tomada de decisão. Especificamente, foram comparados os processos de tomada de decisão de alunos de Direito e de sujeitos sem formação jurídica específica, no que diz respeito a situações de menores em risco. Foram alvo de estudo questões como a retirada da criança da família, a confiança na decisão e também a posição (ranking) quanto a um conjunto de características específicas das situações de maus-tratos infantis (e.g., gravidade do abuso). Os resultados mostraram que existem diferenças significativas na confiança na decisão tomada e no ranking das características, mas não na decisão final. No seu conjunto, os três estudos permitiram não só confirmar a complexidade das tomadas de decisão específicas destas situações, mas também perceber a necessidade de se construir um modelo abrangente e integrativo dessas mesmas tomadas de decisão, que possa servir de organizador do processo, quer para os decisores, quer para as instituições envolvidas. É importante que os próprios profissionais compreendam o processo da sua tomada de decisão específica. A título de exemplo, a partir dos modelos explicativos da tomada de decisão, os juízes poderão tentar perceber a que informações conferem mais importância ou ponderar sobre as informações a incluir em casos específicos, entre outros aspectos. Relativamente a outros profissionais como psicólogos e assistentes sociais, este trabalho permite um olhar externo às suas decisões. É possível realizar um levantamento informal do processo de tomada de decisão dos profissionais, percebendo, por exemplo, potenciais influências ao longo do mesmo. Espera-se por isso que os contributos desta tese sejam passíveis de aplicação no dia-a-dia. Por último, é importante refletir sobre os resultados encontrados acerca da formação académica dos diferentes intervenientes do processo de tomada de decisão referentes a situações de maus-tratos. Em parte, a reflexão deverá incidir, por exemplo, sobre a eventual influência da formação académica na prática profissional futura.
Child maltreatment is a real and complex social problem with severe short and long-term consequences to the children. In order to protect the children and youth at risk, it is crucial to understand the decisions regarding child maltreatment situations. The present work emerges as an attempt to better understand this reality. It encompasses three studies about decision-making processes in child maltreatment situations. Specifically, we intended to understand the opinion of different intervenient (e.g., judges and psychologists) on child maltreatment situations. Also, the slowdown of the process and multiplicity of available information reveals the importance of understanding information processing and probable influences associated to it. This thesis is compounded by three studies: One literature review and two empirical studies. Specifically, the first study is a systematic review about: (i) the characteristics that can influence judges’ decision about children at risk (e.g., judges’ characteristics); and (ii) the models that are eventually used for the professionals’ decision making in specific situations. Some consistency was found in the literature about the importance of situational characteristics such factors from judges (e.g., religion), victim (e.g., age), offender (e.g., gender), and context factors (e.g., rules and laws). Apparently, there is no consensual model that can represent the decision making process as a whole, even though a trend to the use of models that encompass legal, political and social system as well as personal values, seems to emerge. The second study approaches the opinion of professionals usually involved on the decision making process on child maltreatment situations (e.g., psychologists, social assistants). The participants’ perspective about the services available in Portugal and the different professionals involved on the process were analyzed. The study also approached the professionals’ opinion about specific characteristics of child abuse situations (e.g., parents’ psychopathology). Characteristics such as severity, length and reoccurrence of the abuse were considered the most important, whereas the family socioeconomic status was the least important. Significant associations between several study variables emerged, namely between participants’ profession and suggested services, and between workplace and situational characteristics. The last study is a comparative analysis about the potential role of academic experience on the decision making process. More specifically, this study compares the decision making process of law students and lay people (without experience on the legal field) regarding child maltreatment situations. Three features were explored: i) decision of removing or not the child from home; ii) confidence on the decision (post-decision confidence); and iii) rating of some characteristics specific of abuse situations (e.g., severity of the abuse). Results showed statistically significant differences between both groups regarding their post-decision confidence and characteristics’ ranking. However, no differences were found on the decision itself. Together, these three studies allowed not only to confirm the complexity of the decision-making in child maltreatment situations, but also to realize the need to build a comprehensive and integrative model of decision-making on specific situations of child maltreatment. Ideally, the model can be a support to process’ organizing, both for decision makers and for the institutions involved. It is important for those professionals to comprehend the specificities of their decision making process. For example, having as a base the explanatory models found in the first study about the judges’ decision making, professionals can reflect on their own decisions: Understand the most important factors and analyze the available information on specific cases. In what concerns other professionals – such as psychologists and social assistants –, this thesis allows an external look to their decisions. It is possible to do an informal survey about the decision making process of this professionals (e.g., about potential influences to the process). Moreover, and the knowledge acquired is likely to be applied to day-to-day actions. At last, it is relevant the reflection about the academic experience results regarding the professionals involved along the process, in particular, the judges. For example, a reflection about the eventual influence of academic experience on the professional practice is needed.

It was recommended by the American Psychological Association and the American Bar Association in October 1999, that the time had come for psychologists to do more than act as expert witnesses, and that their influence should be felt " ... at the first level of intervention" (Foxhall, 2000, p. 1). The first level of intervention is considered, in this study, to be the decision-making process. This research examines the decision-making processes used by four of the disciplines integral to the child abuse multi-disciplinary team. Social workers, child protection officers of the South African Police Services, psychologists and prosecutors currently involved in the child abuse arena in South Africa were given case vignettes to anchor their decision-making on simulated examples. On the basis of these in-depth interviews, using a Grounded Theory methodology, three specific questions are addressed, namely: how decisions are made and substantiated; how they differ across disciplines; and how they compare to recommended protocol. Results indicate interesting differences across these four disciplines. The differences between the decision-making processes in the disciplines seem to be rooted in their philosophical tenets, which give rise to specific aims in addressing child abuse. Differences between the decision-making processes and recommended protocol were also noted in cases where guidelines are available. In addition differences in expected outcomes of the vignettes, use ofassumptions and a level of mistrust between professionals was shown. If this research can help to sensitise professionals to begin to understand their own decision-making processes and those of their fellow decision-makers, then perhaps key role players and policy makers may be one step closer to responding to the challenge of child sexual abuse in South Africa.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Psychology.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-65). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19685

Dramatic increases in the number of reported cases of child abuse have necessitated attempts to improve front-line workers' investigative skills. This study examined the relation between investigators' critical-thinking skills and decision-making abilities in the context of a hypothetical scenario of a reported case of child abuse, and explored the relations between these two investigative abilities and general reasoning skills, job-related beliefs, and personality dimensions. As part of a 3-day interviewing and credibility assessment workshop, 150 respondents completed a survey, providing their reasons for their disagreement/agreement with a premature intervention made in a scenario of a reported case of child abuse. Accounting for 48% of the variability in investigators' decisions, higher levels of critical thinking and lower levels of perceived responsibility for ensuring a child's safety in a reported case of child abuse significantly predicted stronger disagreement with the premature intervention. Accounting for 17% of the variability in investigators' levels of critical thinking, (a) sex, (b) beliefs about the percentage of reported cases of child abuse that, in general, are true, and (c) levels of hostility emerged as significant predictors, such that being female, estimating a relatively low percentage of true cases, and being relatively less hostile were predictive of higher levels of critical thinking. No significant differences in investigative abilities were found between investigators and other non-investigative professionals. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
社會工作學研究所
101
The incidence of reported child abuse is fast growing in the past few years. To identify a child abuse case, a reliable and valid risk assessment is pertinent for a child protection worker to make appropriate treatment decision. In 2011, according to the Control Yuan, a child protection worker, who once made inconsistent decision from risk assessment of possible harm after a child going home, was impeached for a child death incidence due to that worker’s negligence. The extant literature in Taiwan gave no valid information of how a risk assessment model could be effective to identify a child abuse case. This study aims to test predicting power of a proposed risk assessment model and examine how child protection workers would make inconsistent decision from their risk assessment. A data set provided by Tao-Yuan County Child Protection Team was used to do analysis. A particular form of risk assessment tool was completed by every child protection worker after investigation during 2011. A total of 2,142 cases reported were investigated in 2011, but only 2003 cases were risk assessed in forms. Due to statistical efficiency, a total of 607 cases were stratified randomly sampled from the sampled population. And a qualitative approach was used to collect data from four child protection workers regarding inconsistent decisions they made in risk assessment procedure. Results showed that almost eighty percent of the sampled cases assessed were rated as children with the lower risk and 86.3% were not substantiated for further treatment. In 20.4% of the sampled cases rated as children of higher risks, 61.2% were substantiated as child abuse cases for further treatment services, but the others did not receive treatment. In prediction, the indicators of global risk level, wounds of the body, frequency of the abuse acts, care and living conditions, degree of threat from the abuser, attitude and expectations towards the child, and economic stress were found to have prediction power on child abuse case substantiation. Since some cases with higher level assessed were not substantiated, four first line workers were in-depth interviewed to explain the inconsistency. Two sets of reasons were given regarding the technical issues related to assessing process (decision before filling the form of risk assessment) and the difficulties related to using the risk assessment tool (some concern for the validity). Implications about developing effective risk assessment models and promoting precision between investigation and decision-making are included.

O recurso à psicologia forense, nomeadamente as avaliações psicológicas, por parte dos tribunais é uma realidade em expansão. As solicitações têm aumentado, muito provavelmente, graças à maior visibilidade e consciência social, como é o caso do abuso sexual. Por isto, este estudo pretende sobretudo, compreender a valoração atribuída ao trabalho dos psicólogos forenses enquanto peritos e formuladores das perícias psicológicas forenses em casos de abuso sexual de menores, por parte, dos magistrados aquando do processo de tomada de decisão judicial. A amostra compreende sete magistrados (2 do género feminino e 5 do género masculino) com experiências profissionais diferentes na área do crime e da família. A metodologia adoptada foi a qualitativa, que pelos seus pressupostos preenchia os requesitos necessários, neste caso, de acesso aos significados e percepções dos sujeitos entrevistados, relativamente, à temática. Para a análise de conteúdo, recorremos a Grounded Theory, essencial na cofidicação e interpretação dos dados recolhidos. Desta interpretação, percebeu-se que no geral, os magistrados valorizam as perícias psicológicas forenses e atribuem considerações favoráveis, mediante algumas características referidas, ao seu contributo na tomada de decisão. No entanto, a limitação revela-se na complementaridade que estas têm de ter com as perícias médico-legais. Ou seja, verifica-se que ainda é difícil atribuir a perícia psicológica forense a responsabilidade probatória que esta merece, principalmente em casos de abuso sexual de menores, intrafamiliar, pelas suas dinâmicas de difícil detecção
The use of forensic psychology, in particular psychological evaluation by the courts, is an expanding reality. The requests have increased, most probably, thanks to the greater social visibility and social awareness, such as sexual abuse. So this study aims primarily, understand the importance assigned to the work of forensic psychologists as experts and formulators of forensic psychological expertise in cases of sexual abuse of minors, by the judges during the process of decision making. The sample consists of seven judges (2 female and 5 male) with different professional experiences in the area of family and crime. The methodology was qualitative, which by their assumptions met the requisites needed in this case, access to the meanings and perceptions of interviewees in relation to the theme. For the content analysis we used the Grounded Theory, essential in codification and interpretation of data collected. In this interpretation, it was noticed that in general, judges value the forensic psychological expertise and give favorable consideration, on their contribution in decision making. However, the limitation appears in the complementarity, which they must have, with the medical legal expertise. It appears that it’s still difficult to attribute to the forensic psychological expertise the responsibility that she deserve mainly in cases of sexual abuse in minors within the family, by the dynamics are difficult to detect.

Este estudo tem como objetivo a compreensão do papel das perícias psicológicas na tomada de decisão judicial em casos de abuso sexual. Esta investigação encontra-se integrada numa mais abrangente cujo objetivo é o de perceber a tomada de decisão judicial no geral. Através de entrevistas a onze magistrados, pretendemos 1) compreender quais as dimensões duma perícia que são mais valorizadas, 2) compreender quais as expectativas que têm acerca das perícias, 3) perceber quais as situações em que a perícia é mais valorizada e útil, 4) explorar se a leitura da perícia difere consoante o perito que a realiza, 5) perceber quais as situações em que os magistrados consideram necessário ouvir o perito que realizou a perícia. Alguns dos resultados encontrados incluem o facto de que a perícia psicológica é particularmente importante para os magistrados quando não existe outro tipo de evidência que prove uma determinada ocorrência de abuso, e que os magistrados esperam que a perícia psicológica consista numa avaliação objetiva e concreta de uma determinada característica da vítima, que nestes casos, frequentemente se trata da avaliação da credibilidade do discurso da criança abusada.
The present study aims to understand the role of the psychological expertise in judicial decision making in sexual abuse cases. This investigation finds itself integrated in a larger one that aims to understand the judicial decision making process as a whole. Through interviews to eleven magistrates, we aim to 1) understand what they value the most in a psychological expertise, 2) understand what their expectations for an expertise are, 3) understand which situations the expertise is most valued and useful, 4) explore if the expertise is interpreted differently depending on the expert who writes it, and 5) understand on which situations the magistrates deem necessary to listen to the expert who wrote the expertise. Some of the main results found in this investigation include the fact that the psychological expertise is particularly important to the magistrates when there’s no other kind of evidence to prove a certain abuse, and that the magistrates expect the psychological expertise to be an objective and concrete evaluation of a certain characteristic of the victim, which in this type of case, usually is an evaluation of the abused child’s credibility.

The goal of the study was to conduct a survey on the extent and nature of poly-victimization of adolescents in Heideveld. This researcher used a quantitative approach, administering an altered form of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire to achieve the goal. This questionnaire had 34 screener items exploring victimization events across a broad range of possible victimization types. Convenience sampling of grade 8-10 learners was used from a school in Heideveld. Ninety-one respondents completed the questionnaire, the age range spread from 13 – 18 years of age. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the results. Responses of respondents to victimization (directed either at themselves or a peer) were explored through open-ended questions. Content analysis was performed to describe the data collected. The results showed that the extent of poly-victimization of adolescents in Heideveld is high. The findings were explored and finally conclusions and recommendations were discussed.
Social Work
M. Diac. (Play Therapy)