Injustice to Children and Families in Child Abuse Cases (From Psychology and Law: International Perspectives, P 352- 359, 1992, Friedrich Losel, Doris Bender, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-148224)

• NCJ Number: 148248
• Author(s): D Howitt
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Walter de Gruyter & Co
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Germany (Unified)

Annotation

Based on a single case study, this paper focuses on disputed child protection decisions in child abuse cases.

Abstract

The case study involved a family in which abuse was suspected but could not be proven. Issues associated with errors in child protection decisions are serious, although formal theories of errors in professional judgments are lacking. Three broad explanatory principles are applied to explain errors in child protection decisions: (1) templating, closely related to stereotyping, involves checking the individual against a "social template" to see if he or she fits that template; (2) justificatory theorizing, based on considerable evidence that child protection decisions are theory-based; and (3) ratcheting, the tendency of child protection processes to move in a single direction. 16 references