Decision-Making and Relationship Competence When Reporting Suspected Physical Abuse and Child Neglect: An Objective...

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Child Welfare
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Mandatory reporting laws create ethical tensions for social workers between legal obligations and therapeutic relationships.
• Maintaining the client relationship is crucial for effective psychosocial treatment and child well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate decision-making factors of social work students and practitioners regarding reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
• To analyze justifications for reporting or not reporting to child protection services.
• To explore relationship repair strategies with simulated clients post-reporting decisions.

Main Methods:

• An objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE) was conducted with 19 participants (BSW, MSW, practitioners).
• Participants responded to child maltreatment vignettes (physical abuse or neglect).
• Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, independent samples T-tests, Cohen's D, and qualitative content analysis.

Main Results:

• Six participants explicitly discussed the duty to report during the OSCE; 13 did not.
• Participants who discussed reporting provided clear justifications; those who did not offered more complex reasons for inaction.
• All participants demonstrated critical reflection and competence in handling simulated cases.

Conclusions:

• Social workers navigate complex decision-making processes when faced with suspected child abuse.
• Effective relationship repair strategies are identified regardless of the reporting decision.
• Findings inform future practice and training for social work professionals in child protection cases.