Perceptions associated with dentists' decisions to report hypothetical cases of child maltreatment

The purpose of this study was to examine case-specific perceptions associated with dentists' decisions to report hypothetical cases suggestive of child maltreatment. Surveys were mailed to 500 general dentists (GDs) in Georgia and all 200 pediatric dentists (PDs) in Georgia and Florida. The GDs were chosen from a pool of 1500 by a stratified randomization scheme. Each survey contained two brief vignettes suggestive of, but not conclusive for, child neglect and abuse. Identical questions followed each vignette that were designed to assess five perceptions of the incident and whether the respondent would be likely to report the case. Responses were received from 185 GDs (37%) and 103 PDs (51.5%), for a total of 288 (41.1%). A majority of respondents considered each vignette to be serious, but only a minority believed that they were required to report the neglect (7.3%) and the abuse (33.7%) vignettes. The percentages of likely reporters of the neglect (n = 28) and abuse (N = 103) vignettes were 9.7 and 36%, respectively. No significant differences were noted in the response patterns of GDs and PDs. Decisions to report child maltreatment described in the vignettes were associated with perceptions of 1) the seriousness of the incident, 2) the incident being defined as neglect or abuse, and 3) a requirement to report. The possibility that a maltreatment report would have a negative impact on the child was associated with a decision not to report. The perception that a report would have a negative impact on the family was common among likely reporters and nonreporters.