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Published on: May 3, 2016
Teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse: problems with existing research leading to new scale
Kerryann Walsh1, Mehdi Rassafiani, Ben Mathews
1School of Early Childhood, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. k.walsh@qut.edu.au
Abstract:
This paper details a systematic literature review identifying problems in extant research relating to teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse and offers a model for new attitude scale development and testing. Scale development comprised a five-phase process grounded in contemporary attitude theories, including (a) developing the initial item pool, (b) conducting a panel review, (c) refining the scale via an expert focus group, (d) building content validity through cognitive interviews, and (e) assessing internal consistency via field testing. The resulting 21-item scale displayed construct validity in preliminary testing. The scale may prove useful as a research tool, given the theoretical supposition that attitudes may be changed with time, context, experience, and education. Further investigation with a larger sample is warranted.
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