EFFECTS OF GENDER, AGE, AND HISTORY OF ABUSE ON SOCIAL-WORKERS JUDGMENTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

As part of a national study, 172 social workers were surveyed to deter mine the prevalence of a history of childhood abuse and the extent to which specific background and personal characteristics affect clinical judgments about sexual abuse. Twenty-one percent of the women and 22 percent of the men reported personal histories of sexual abuse. Eight percent of both genders reported having been physically abused, and a strong association between physical and sexual abuse was found. Study respondents rated the credibility of 16 case vignettes alleging sexual abuse. Major factors that predicted credibility ratings were gender ( female social workers were more likely to believe allegations of sexua l abuse), history of abuse (respondents with a history of abuse were m ore likely to believe the allegations), age (younger respondents were more likely to believe the allegations), and work setting (respondents who worked in inpatient settings were less likely to believe the alle gations). Implications for practice ore discussed.