NCJ Number
121716
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 1-35
Date Published
1989
Length
35 pages
Annotation
One effect of the mandatory reporting laws spawned by the 1974 Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act has been a steady increase in the reporting of abuse and neglect; since approximately 50 percent of the reports are initiated by nonprofessional citizens, a community survey was conducted to investigate definitions of family mistreatment and reporting behavior.
Abstract
A survey of 180 adult residents in two northeast Ohio counties was conducted using telephone interviews. A random sample was drawn using random-digit dialing to select households, followed by random selection of adult household members. Sociodemographic information was obtained on each respondent; and using a modified factorial survey design, each respondent was read 20 randomly-selected vignettes of various degrees of mistreatment of adult and child victims and asked to judge each on six scales. The most frequently chosen referral source for reports of family mistreatment was the police when the victim was an adult (elderly parent, wife, or husband). Children services agencies were most often called for child victims. Among sociodemographic characteristics, the only variable having a consistent effect on reporting was gender, with males more likely than females to make reporting choices requiring mandatory reports and reflecting a criminal definition of the perceived abuse or neglect. The more severe the abuse was perceived, the more likely was the abuse to be viewed as criminal and warranting a police report. 11 tables, 23 references.