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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
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An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Child abuse experts disagree about the threshold for mandated reporting
Benjamin H Levi1, Kathryn Crowell
1Departments of Humanities and Pediatrics, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. bhlevi@psu.edu
Clinical Pediatrics
|December 9, 2010
Summary
Child abuse reporting relies on reasonable suspicion, but experts lack consensus on its definition. This study reveals wide variability among experts in interpreting this crucial threshold.
Area of Science:
- Child Abuse Research
- Legal Standards in Child Protection
- Expert Interpretation
Background:
- Reasonable suspicion is the legal standard for reporting suspected child abuse.
- Current guidance on interpreting reasonable suspicion is limited.
- Lack of clear definition impacts consistent reporting practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how child abuse experts interpret the threshold of reasonable suspicion.
- To analyze expert interpretations using two distinct probability frameworks.
- To identify potential consensus or divergence in expert understanding.
Main Methods:
- Anonymous survey distributed to clinical and research experts in child abuse.
- Experts provided responses using ordinal and visual analog scales.
- Quantified the probability threshold for suspicion to be considered reasonable suspicion.
Main Results:
- A 69% response rate was achieved with 81 experts completing the survey.
- Significant variability was observed in expert interpretations of reasonable suspicion across both probability scales.
- No statistically significant differences in interpretation were found based on demographics or professional background.
Conclusions:
- There is a notable lack of consensus among child abuse experts regarding the interpretation of reasonable suspicion.
- The findings highlight a critical gap in understanding the reasonable suspicion standard.
- Further research is needed to establish clearer guidelines for reasonable suspicion in child abuse cases.
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