Professionals' Criteria for Detecting and Reporting Child Sexual Abuse

Professionals who are likely to come into contact with children play an essential role in the protection of children, thus we aimed to study the criteria they use to identify and report child sexual abuse cases. Based on the Factorial Survey design, we presented 974 Spanish (90%) and Latin American professionals from six fields (Psychology, Social Services, Education, Health, Law and Security) with hypothetical situations of sexual interaction with minors (systematically varying the type of sexual act, the child's and the other person's sex and age, the use of coercion and the type of strategy employed to involve the child), in order to examine their perception of abuse and willingness to report. According to results, the factors or criteria that most impact assessments are age asymmetry and use of coercion. Specifically, professionals are significantly more likely to perceive abuse and intend to report it if the other person involved in the interaction is much older than the minor and/or uses a coercive strategy, especially force, drugs or blackmail. Another relevant criterion is the type of sexual act, since acts involving intercourse, digital penetration or oral sex are significantly more likely to be deemed as abuse and reported.

Mandatory reporting of childhood sexual abuse in Israel: what happens after the report?

While the professional literature deals to some degree with the difficult dilemmas faced by professionals regarding the question of reporting or not reporting child abuse as mandated by law, there is a glaring insufficiency of studies looking at the impact of reporting on the victims and their families. This paper presents six cases of suspected sexual abuse to demonstrate some of the inconsistency in responses to reports within the Israeli system. The authors recommend amendments to the Israeli mandatory reporting law so that the law is not only a societal decree of the absolute prohibition against the sexual exploitation of minors and others incapable of giving informed consent, but also a basis for consistent and skillful professional intervention.

Factors associated with nurses' intention to report child abuse: a national survey of Taiwanese nurses

OBJECTIVE

The objectives were to determine the experiences of Taiwanese nurses with a new child abuse reporting law and to assess attitudinal correlates of nurses' intention to report.

METHOD

A stratified quota sampling technique was used to select registered nurses working in pediatric, psychiatric and emergency care units in Taiwan. A total of 1400 (return rate 88%) questionnaires from 1617 nurses were used. The questionnaire includes demographic information, attitudes toward and knowledge of child abuse and reporting laws, and eight vignettes of child abuse.

RESULTS

Most nurses (86%) said they had never reported a child abuse case; 21% said they had failed to report a suspected case of child abuse. Most (80%) had never had any child abuse education. About 75% felt their nursing education and in-service training was inadequate or absent. Most had an inadequate knowledge of the reporting law (mean score: 60% correct). Nurses only answered 17-43% of the law-related questions correctly. The majority accepted the professional responsibility to report. There were some differences among pediatric, psychiatric and emergency care nurses. In general, these Taiwanese nurses had negative attitudes toward corporal punishment and toward parents who abuse their children. The study also identified a variety of attitudes related to intention to report relevant to the Theory of Planned Behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses accept responsibility for reporting but they believe their professional preparation for reporting is inadequate. There is a strong need for in-service and pre-service education about child abuse among nurses in Taiwan.

Therapist responses to recovered and never-forgotten memories of child sex abuse. A national survey of licensed psychologists

In a national survey of 300 female and 300 male licensed psychologists, participants were presented with vignettes in which a 14-year-old girl told a therapist that her father had sexually abused her for a year at a specific age (either 2 or 8), that she either had or had not forgotten the abuse from the time of its occurrence until the current year, and that the therapist is the first one that she had told about the abuse. Participants provided information about the degree to which they found the allegations credible and the steps that they found important in responding to the allegations. The age at which the alleged abuse occurred and the therapist's age produced significant effects on evaluations of credibility, as did an interaction of therapist's sex and theoretical orientation. There was no difference in evaluations of credibility between male and female psychoanalytically oriented therapists; among nonpsychoanalytically oriented therapists, female respondents were more likely than male respondents to find the claim credible.

Mandatory reporting of child abuse: is it in the best interest of the child?

OBJECTIVE

To set out correctly the law on mandatory reporting of child abuse in each Australian jurisdiction and New Zealand; to argue that all patients should be forewarned of the limits of confidentiality in respect of this; and to discuss the question of whether mandatory reporting is in the best interests of the child.

METHOD

Discussion of statutes mandating reporting of child abuse, duty of confidentiality, the experience of mandatory reporting and failure to comply, forewarning of limits of confidentiality, arguments for and against mandatory reporting, and alternatives.

RESULTS

Not all mental health providers comply with the law, for reasons both altruistic and non-altruistic. Although ethical codes for Australian mental health providers do not require forewarning, ethical practice would seem to do so.

CONCLUSIONS

Mandatory reporting statutes now in force are not necessarily in the best interests of the child. An important clinical implication of the law is that considerations should be given to forewarning patients.

Guarding confidentiality in clinical groups: the therapist's dilemma

This study examines the confidentiality practices of highly experienced, well-trained group psychotherapists. A provocative finding was that practitioners rarely inform prospective clients of confidentiality limitations. Their reluctance to do so appears to be based upon the belief that it might discourage persons from entering treatment, as well as having negative ramifications for the therapeutic process (e.g., members may be less likely to talk about unprotected topics). The prevalence and content of breaches in confidentiality are explored. Ethical, legal, clinical, and educational implications of these and other findings are addressed. Research recommendations are offered.