Attributing Responsibility for Child Maltreatment when Domestic Violence Is Present

Autor/inn/en	Landsman, Miriam J.; Hartley, Carolyn Copps
Titel	Attributing Responsibility for Child Maltreatment when Domestic Violence Is Present
Quelle	In: Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 31 (2007) 4, S.445-461 (17 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0145-2134
DOI	10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.08.008
Schlagwörter	Child Safety; Caregivers; Family Violence; Child Welfare; Child Abuse; Responsibility; Case Studies; Caregiver Child Relationship; Parent Child Relationship; Attribution Theory; Gender Differences; Substance Abuse + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Caregiver; Carer; Betreuungsperson; Pfleger; Kindeswohl; Abuse of children; Abuse; Child; Children; Kindesmissbrauch; Missbrauch; Kind; Kinder; Verantwortungsübernahme; Zuständigkeit; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Parents-child relationship; Parent-child-relation; Parent-child relationship; Eltern-Kind-Beziehung; Geschlechterkonflikt; Drug use; Drug consomption; Drogenkonsum
Abstract	Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence how child welfare workers attribute responsibility for child maltreatment and child safety in cases involving domestic violence. Methods: The study used a factorial survey approach, combining elements of survey research with an experimental design. Case vignettes were constructed by randomly assigning characteristics to vignettes believed to be related to assessments about responsibility for child maltreatment. Public child welfare workers were systematically sampled and asked to rate vignettes on male and female caregivers' responsibility for child maltreatment and concerns for safety. Results: The presence of domestic violence significantly affected workers' assessments of the attribution of responsibility and concern for child safety, more so than variables related to child maltreatment. Responsibility for exposing a child to domestic violence differed for males and females, with more factors explaining female responsibility. Substance use by either caregiver was significant in attributing responsibility for physical harm, not watching the child closely enough, and concern for child safety, but not for exposure to domestic violence. Conclusions: Domestic violence appeared to heighten workers' assessments of responsibility for child maltreatment and concerns about child safety, taking precedence over the characteristics of the child maltreatment itself. Battering tends to work against the domestic violence victim in terms of the attribution of responsibility. A greater number of factors affect female responsibility for exposing a child to domestic violence than male responsibility, even though in every case the male was the designated domestic violence batterer. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10