Introduction
The child welfare organizations are objectified on assessing the prevalence of child abuse among the referred cases in order to prevent the occurrence of future abuse among the children who are identified at a high risk of neglect and abuse. The child welfare authorities are also focused on determining the prevalence of assessing the consequent neglect among the children with the history of being abused (Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2014). The assessment by child welfare organizations are incorporated by the risk assessment tools in which the explicit criteria and undeviating approaches are used to derive the results. These results are derived from the protocols and risk assessment methods that are questioned by the researchers on account of their validity and reliability (Rheger et al., 2010).
The prevalence of risk assessment is considered as a crucial factor in determining the wellbeing of the children and hence, it is significant reliable and valid measures of assessment are determined. The quantitative means of risk assessment also require the social workers’ subjective judgment due to which their decisions are not considered valid enough to be incorporate the decision that can determine the extent of children’s wellbeing (LeBlanc et al., 2012). The subjective judgement is considered to be effected by the situational factors in which the social workers assess the families for the possibility of child abuse (Davidson-Arad & Benbenishty, 2010). The current paper is aimed to provide a review of quantitative and qualitative research in order the enlighten the challenges that social workers encounter while assessing the prevalence of child abuse. Moreover, the in-depth analysis of theories, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, summary, implications and further research direction are also discussed in this paper.
Theories
Positivism Theory
Positivism theory indicates that the extent of knowledge of is dependent on the natural phenomena with respect to its relations and properties. In accordance with this theory, the information is driven from the sensory experience that is supported by the logical reasoning in order to derive the decision (Wood, 2011). Positivism theory supports the decisions that are based on facts and hence, empiricism is considered as the most prominent factor in the determining of a decision. However, lack of positivism and uncertainty can cause hindrances in determining the adequate decision by the decision maker (Regehr et al., 2010).
The social workers are often encountered with the uncertainty about the cues they receive from the children and their parents in order to determine the occurrence of child abuse and neglect. Similarly, the uncertainty makes the social worker less confident about his judgement due to which they incorporate the wrong decisions. Moreover, the social workers’ past experiences and academic knowledge can also make them overconfident about their judgement due to which they may not consider the prevailing cues and determine their decision on the basis of most obvious behavior or prior experience (Regehr et al., 2010).
Dual Process Theory of Reasoning
The dual process theory indicates that the process of decision making encompasses the two cognitive systems that mainly comprise of heuristic-intuitive reasoning and controlled-analytical reasoning. In accordance with heuristic-intuitive reasoning, the decision is incorporated by the automatic process and when uncertainty prevails in determining the existence of child abuse in a case, then social workers adhere to the heuristic reasoning. In accordance with controlled-analytical reasoning, the rule-based process in decision making takes place in which the social workers encounter with high certainty that provides them with the evidences that are sufficient to support the decision. It is inferred that the decisions that are made under the prevalence of heuristic reasoning are more prone to biasness on the basis of personal inclinations, cultural and personal differences (Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2014).
Complexity Theory
Complexity Theory indicates the prevalence of a mechanism or behavior with respect to pattern, structure and order. In this manner, it is inferred that the need of every client or family in addressing familial issues is different due to which is highly required that social workers understand the extent of need that is required to their clients (Gillingham & Humphreys, 2010; Stevens & Hassett, 2012). The need of every client is addressed by a specific structure by means of identifying the specific patterns and order in their behavior. The social workers are required to be highly adept at their professional skills in order to determine the need of their clients so that adequate decisions can be made to provide them with the standard services (Gillingham & Humphreys, 2010).
Theory of Reasoned Action
The theory of reasoned action incorporates the notion that the individuals with strong intentions towards achieving the outcome of the action, are more inclined to perform at a high level by means of utilizing their best potential. It is inferred that the theory of reasoned action is focused on providing the best possible environment for the development of the child. It incorporates the personal convictions of the social workers and the extent to which they oppose the prevalence of child abuse from the society (Smith, 2014). In this manner, the attitudinal factors of social workers which incorporates their commitment, concerns and confidence. Commitment indicates the extent to which the social workers are engaged to their profession and the extent to which social workers consider the significance of their profession in the wellbeing of the children. Moreover, concerns indicate the social worker’s personal inclination towards enhancing the wellbeing of the children, whereas confidence indicates the extent to which the social worker believes about the observations and judgements that indicate the prevalence of maladjustment. In this way, these factors play a prominent role in developing the attitude of providing relief to the children and hence, the theory of planned reasoning is implied in this instance (Smith, 2014).
Decision Making Theory
The decision making theory indicates that the judgements of an individual are based on the rational decisions, whereas these decisions are further confirmed by the extent of the individual’s selective attention towards the stimuli (Regehr et al., 2010). In this manner, it is implied that social workers incorporate their decision of removing children from its family on the basis of the quantitative tools and measures that determine the prevalence of child abuse. Similarly, the subjective cues also play a prominent role in helping the social worker to determine the prevalence of child abuse. However, selective attention towards the stimuli is incorporated after acquiring the direction of decision acquired from the prior analysis via assessments. The prevalence selective attention helps the social worker to focus of the family environment and child’s level of adjustment in the family and hence, the decision about determining the child abuse is incorporated (Regehr et al., 2010).
Quantitative Methodology
The study conducted by Regehr et al. (2010) was aimed to determine the extent of confidence among social workers when they incorporate actuarial measures to determine the prevalence of child abuse and the factors that effect the decisions of social workers. In this study, the standard patients were performing in the scenarios in order to determine the case of child abuse. The overall sample was comprised of 96 social workers who interviewed two families and completed the standard risk measurement tools. Afterwards, these workers were interviewed to discuss their subjective views that helped them in decision making.
The confidence of social workers was measured by using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), whereas the risk measurement tools were comprised of Ontario Risk Assessment Measure, Ontario Safety Assessment and Ontario Family Risk Assessment. The data were assessed by using cluster analysis and correlation analysis and the results indicated that three factors played a significant role effecting the confidence of social workers, which eventually effected their judgment (Rheger et al., 2010). The same research design was incorporated by LeBlanc et al. (2012) and the study was inclusive of measuring stress level by examining the salivary cortisol. These studies incorporated a holistic approach to pre-test the confidence of social workers, risk assessment and performance assessment interview to derive the results.
Enosh and Bayer-Topilsky (2014) conducting the study to enlighten the decision making process and the heuristic factors that effect the risk assessment of child abuse by using the non-probability sample of 105 social workers. The vignette based factorial survey was used to determine the extent of judgement and the results were analyzed by Regression analysis. Similarly, Davidson-Arad & Benbenishty (2010) conducted an explanatory study that was focused on enlightening the attitudes of social workers towards the removal of children from their homes. The sample size was consisted of 236 social workers who attended the Annual Professional Conference and vignette survey was used to determine their inclinations towards the removal. The data was analyzed by using the bivariate correlation and regression in order to determine the extent to which social workers’ attitudes towards the removal of children effects and relates with their decision of removal.
The study conducted by Smith (2015) and was focused on determining the extent to which attitudinal factors effect the social workers’ inclination towards maltreatment. The convenient sampling was incorporated and the data from 148 preservice speech pathologists was collected. The measuring instrument was comprised of commitment, concern and confidence whereas, ten vignettes were used to determine the decision of the participants. The results were analyzed using Multiple Regression and Correlation. The study incorporated the extensive approach of data collection due to the use of detailed vignettes.
Qualitative Methodology
O’Reilly & Dolan (2015) proposed that the training of play skills among social workers enhances their ability to interact and engage with children, which eventually helps them to determine the occurrence of maltreatment. The proposed notion was enlightened by using the fieldwork study in which 8 social workers, who were selected by convenience sampling, were trained with the play skills. These social workers used the play skills in their real life experiences and then shared their experience related to its effectiveness with the researchers. The Biographic Narrative Interview Method (BNIM) was used to determine the main patterns and themes from the interviews, which helped in deriving the results of the study. The research incorporated the extensive research and maintained its focus on the objective throughout the conduction of study.
Gillingham & Humphreys (2010) determined the effectiveness of four Structured Decision Making tools in order to assess the risk of maltreatment. The researcher spent the duration of 2 weeks at 6 child welfare organizations and interviewed the social workers with respect to their knowledge about the use of SDM. The data was collected by interviews and observations that were recorded in Field Diary and thematic analysis was conducted to draw the results. Similarly, Hitzler & Messmer (2010) conducted the observational study in which 14 care planning conferences were observed to determine the conflict that can be caused by the communicative exigencies and decision making reasoning. The conversation analysis of these audio-taped conferences was conducted and hence, the study strived to draw the conclusions that can help in determining the need of communication in rationalizing the decisions of social workers.
The study conducted by Put, Assink & Stams (2016) was aimed to determine the empirical validity of a structured instrument and actuarial instrument with respect to the risk assessment. In this study, the risk assessment tools that comprised of Check List of Child Safety (CLCS) and Actuarial Risk Classification were assessed in accordance with their validity. The sample was comprised of 3,963 Dutch families that were supervised by the Dutch Child Welfare Agency (CWA). Point bi-serial correlation was conducted to determine the effect of the assessment tools on the relapses that were encountered with the supervised families. In this manner, this study provided an extensive analysis in which the effectiveness of two risk assessment instruments was observed in accordance with the decision of relapse provided by the social workers.
Jensen (2013) enlightened the factors that effect the risk assessment conducted by the social workers by means of interviewing the sample of 6 social workers from the government welfare organization. The structured open-ended questionnaire was used to acquire the responses from the participants. The interviewed data was transformed into the transcribed verbatim and was coded into the themes. Afterwards, the content analysis was conducted to draw the conclusions.
Findings
The study conducted by Regehr et al. (2010) indicated that the social workers’ age, stress level and perceived ability to engage with family members was highly related with their confidence, which eventually effected their judgment of determining the prevalence of maltreatment of children. The findings from the study conducted by Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky (2014) indicated that the prevalence of uncertainty and ambiguity in the provided information effected judgement of social workers. It was also observed that the social workers who perceived families with low socioeconomic background were more prone to sending their children from home.
The findings from the study of LeBlanc (2012) indicated that the stress level of social workers was high in non-confrontational than confrontational assessment. The scores of risk assessment were also higher in non-confrontational assessment which eventually indicated the relation between stress level and risk assessment. However, Davidson-Arad & Benbenishty (2010) provided the empirical evidence in which it was proved that the positive attitude of social workers towards the removal of children positively effected the prevalence of high risk assessment.
It was also observed that social workers’ concerns and commitment towards the wellbeing of the children increases their likelihood of reporting the maltreatment of children (Smith, 2015). Moreover, O’Reilly & Dolan (2015) indicated that the social workers’ ability to engage in play skills with children helped them to communicate better with the children which eventually helped them in making the adequate judgements. However, the study conducted by Gillingham & Humphreys (2010) indicated that social workers were not using the SDM tools in an effective manner which indicated that poor technical skills of social workers which questioned their judgement of maltreatment.
The findings from the study conducted by Hitzler & Messmer (2010) indicated that the judgement of social workers was imperative of their interaction with their clients which eventually challenges the findings of Gillingham & Humphreys (2010). Moreover, Put et al. (2016) indicated that Actuarial Risk Classification provides more significant and valid results in determining the prevalence of child abuse than Check List of Child Safety. However, Jensen (2013) indicated that the social workers’ inclination towards endless work, evidence, knowledge, interest, emotions, information and vague definitions helps in the effective assessment of risk.
Implications for Practice
It is required that the social workers address the ethnic and socioeconomic factors while conducting the risk assessment to ensure that their judgement is independent of the biasness caused by the family’s socioeconomic and ethnic standings (Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2014). It is also required that the organizations where social workers have to make decisions under the stressful situations should incorporate this issue by means of enlightening the organizations with the prospects of misjudgments. The social workers can also be provided with the stress management trainings in order to increase their resistance and confidence during the stressful situations (LeBlanc et al., 2012).
The changes in social workers’ attitudes can hinder the effectiveness of their judgement due to which it is required that social workers are provided with the adequate trainings and supervision to carry out their practice so that their attitudinal factors can be determined and addressed in an effective manner (Davidson-Arad & Benbenishty, 2010). The prevalence of training in which social workers should be enlightened with the fact about the overemphasis on removal decision due to their personal concerns towards the case. Moreover, standardization in the method of risk assessment is also required so that the occurrence of personal judgment and biasness can be reduced (Smith, 2015; Jensen, 2013). Moreover, the trainings with respect to the adequate use of SDM tools should also be provided to the social workers and their performance should also be evaluated with respect to their decisions and recurrence of maltreatment incidences (Gillingham & Humphreys, 2010).
Future Areas of Study & Conclusion
It is required that the future researches should consider the occurrence of selective attention, ethnic and cultural differences and their extent to which they effect the judgement of social workers. The social workers should also be provided with the trainings that address the cultural differences and help them understand the dynamics of family system in the culturally diversified families (Regehr et al., 2010). Moreover, the prevalence of random population in the similar aspects of researches is also required to ensure the consistency of the results (Enosh & Bayer-Topilsky, 2014).
There are numerous dimensions of attitudes that are not addressed by the previous researches that can be addressed by the future researches which can help in determining the inclinations of social workers towards the risk assessment and decision of maltreatment (Smith, 2014). It is also required that the future researches incorporate the probability sampling in order to ensure that the results accounts for the higher rate of validity and provide consistent results across the large number of population (Smith, 2014).
The decision related to the effective identification of maltreatment of children is crucial for the wellbeing of these children. There are numerous assessment tools that assist the social workers’ decision towards predicting the occurrence of child abuse, however, the decisions of social workers are not restricted to the quantitative assessment tools due to the prevalence subjective cues and subjective anticipation. In this manner, the biasness in determining the right decision prevails due to which it is essential that the social workers are provided with the adequate trainings and information about reducing the extent of personal biasness.
The decisions are highly dependent of the judgements of social workers that are usually supported by the risk assessment tools. Moreover, the factors related to personal biasness prevailing in the decision making are required to be hindered by using the standard method of decision making is implied in order to ensure that the effective decisions are being made that address the wellbeing of children. The effective means of decision making using the standard procedure can increase the confidence of the social workers and can help in the early identification of the at-risk children that are prone towards the occurrence of child abuse.
References
Arad-Davidzon, B., & Benbenishty, R. (2008). The role of workers' attitudes and parent and child wishes in child protection workers' assessments and recommendation regarding removal and reunification. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(1), 107-121.
Enosh, G., & Bayer-Topilsky, T. (2014). Reasoning and bias: Heuristics in safety assessment and placement decisions for children at risk. British Journal of Social Work. 1-17.
Gillingham, P., & Humphreys, C. (2010). Child protection practitioners and decision-making tools: Observations and reflections from the front line. British Journal of Social Work, 40(8), 2598-2616.
Hitzler, S., & Messmer, H. (2010). Group decision-making in child welfare and the pursuit of participation. Qualitative Social Work, 9(2), 205-226.
Jensen, T. E. (2013). Determining Maltreatment Substantiation According to Minnesota Child Protection Intake Workers. MSW Clinical Research,
LeBlanc, V. R., Regehr, C., Shlonsky, A., & Bogo, M. (2012). Stress responses and decision making in child protection workers faced with high conflict situations. Child abuse & neglect, 36(5), 404-412.
O'Reilly, L., & Dolan, P. (2015). The Voice of the Child in Social Work Assessments: Age-Appropriate Communication with Children. British Journal of Social Work, bcv040. 1-17
Put, C. E., Assink, M., & Stams, G. J. J. (2016). Predicting relapse of problematic child-rearing situations. Children and youth services review, 61, 288-295.
Regehr, C., Bogo, M., Shlonsky, A., & LeBlanc, V. (2010). Confidence and professional judgment in assessing children’s risk of abuse. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(6), 621-628.
Smith, A. (2014). Child Maltreatment: What Attitudinal Factors of Commitment, Confidence, and Concern Predict Reporting Practices of Preservice Speech-Language Pathologists?.
