Teachers' recognition and reporting of child abuse: a factorial survey

The major aim of this study was to determine the effect of characteristics of the case, the teacher, and the organizational setting on recognition and reporting of child abuse.

A factorial survey design was employed in which a probability sample of teachers (N = 480) responded to vignettes in which case characteristics were systematically manipulated.

Analysis using OLS regression showed that case characteristics alone accounted for 50.30% of the variance in recognition and 51.08% of the variance in reporting: the strongest effects were from type and seriousness of abuse, positive behavior of the victim and positive psychology of the perpetrator. The inclusion of variables describing the teachers and the school explained only a very small additional proportion of the variance in teacher's responses.

Teachers responses to child abuse are relatively unbiased by either the extraneous characteristics of the perpetrator or victim, the responding teacher, or the school setting. The findings do not appear to support the problem of "overreporting." There is evidence for "underreporting," particularly in less serious cases involving physical and emotional abuse. Teachers are undeterred by the many problems and fears that may accompany a report of child abuse to Child Protective Services. Teachers use discretion in reporting abuse they recognize.