The effect of personal characteristics on reporting child maltreatment

This study examined the relationship between personal characteristics of 276 potential entry-level social service workers and their decision to report child maltreatment to Child Protective Services (CPS). The personal characteristics of interest were: age, gender, parenthood, mother's education, father's education, college major, ethnicity, and immigrant status. The study hypotheses were that personal characteristics would have: (1) an individual effect on reporting, (2) a combined effect on reporting, and (3) an effect on reporting beyond any effect mediated by approval of corporal punishment and perceptions of maltreatment.

Data were collected by a self-report survey employing vignettes in multi-item scales. Respondents rated (1) their approval of corporal punishment, (2) the seriousness of incidents of probable maltreatment, and (3) their likelihood of reporting incidents of probable maltreatment to CPS.

Of the eight personal characteristics, only ethnicity and immigrant status had significant effects on reporting. Together with approval of corporal punishment and perception of maltreatment, ethnicity and immigrant status accounted for 32% of the variance in reporting (p <.001).

Independently and combined, ethnicity and immigrant status have considerable effect on reporting behavior. Findings suggest that human service agencies should address issues of diversity and establish clear criteria for responding to child maltreatment.