The role of race and severity of abuse in teachers' recognition or reporting of child abuse
Date
2003
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Child and Family Studies
Abstract
In the United States, reported child abuse rates vary dramatically with race. We
employed a scenario methodology to examine whether teachers, whose professional
obligations include reporting suspected instances of abuse, exhibit bias in
evaluating a possibly abused child. Each teacher (180 White, 180 Black, and 180
Hispanic) read one of six profiles about a hypothetical elementary school student
and then expressed extent of agreement with either a statement that the child is
being physically abused or a statement that the child should be reported as being
physically abused. Within the set of profiles, race of the child and severity of abuse
were manipulated. When the child in the profile was severely abused, responses for
the two judgmental tasks were comparable. However, when the child was moderately
abused, teachers asked whether the child was abused gave higher responses
than their counterparts who were asked whether the child should be reported. No
effects of race of the child or race of the teacher were observed.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
mandatory reporting, race, child abuse, educators, judgment
Citation
Egu, C. L., & Weiss, D. J. (2003). The role of race and severity of abuse in teachers' recognition or reporting of child abuse. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 12(4), 465-474.