THE IMPACT OF INDIVIDUALS CHARACTERISTICS AND EXPERIENCES ON THEIR DEFINITIONS OF CHILD MALTREATMENT

Objective: This study was designed to explore the extent to which indi viduals' own characteristics and experiences, particularly those invol ving child-rearing and child maltreatment, influence their definitions of abuse and neglect. Method: An anonymous written questionnaire aski ng respondents to rate the importance of individual factors to an abus e determination, as well as to rate the likelihood of specific acts in corporated into vignettes to constitute abuse, was administered to par ticipants (n = 323) representing six groups with diverse relationships and experience with children: mental health professionals, legal prof essionals, medical professionals, preschool and elementary school teac hers, parents, and adult nonparents. Results: Parenting experience had only a minimal effect on assessments of abuse, while having encounter ed a case or suspected case of maltreatment at work predisposed indivi duals to view more ambiguous acts as less likely to constitute abuse. Nonetheless, this latter group was less receptive to factors offered i n mitigation of perpetrator liability. Surprisingly, no effect was det ected for individuals themselves identifying as a victim or perpetrato r of abuse or neglect. Conclusions: Although personal experiences with child-rearing and child maltreatment had only a marginal effect on in dividuals' assessments of abuse and neglect, the role played by profes sional experiences viith such cases should be investigated further as it does appear to impact these determinations. Along with the delineat ion of key factors discussed in this study, such work can assist in th e development of a much needed standard to guide practitioners, partic ularly in regard to more ambiguous acts which tended to produce more g uarded reactions from professionals. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.