NCJ Number
214267
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 357-365
Date Published
April 2006
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study explored the relationship between perceived neighborhood social disorder and attitudes toward reporting child physical abuse among Spanish families.
Abstract
Results indicated that perceived neighborhood social disorder was negatively related to attitudes regarding reporting child physical abuse to the police. This finding remained significant after controlling for several confounding variables, such as socio-economic status, size of city, and perceived frequency of child abuse. More specifically, the chances of holding positive attitudes about reporting child physical abuse were approximately twice as high for people who perceived low or medium levels of neighborhood social disorder. The findings highlight the importance of community characteristics in the prevention of child maltreatment and suggest that neighborhoods with high levels of disadvantage and social disorder should be specifically targeted for child abuse prevention programming and education. Data were drawn from a national probabilistic sample of 9,759 Spanish adults aged 18 years and older who participated in face-to-face interviews in their homes. Interview questions focused on perceptions of neighborhood social disorder, perceived frequency of child physical abuse in Spanish families, and willingness to report suspected child physical abuse to police. Data were analyzed using multivariate binomial logistic regression analyses. Future research should explore attitudes toward reporting other types of child maltreatment. Table, references