PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT AND CHILD-ABUSE REPORTING IN SEXUAL ABUSE CASES

Doctoral-level pediatric psychologists N = 269, 42% response rate returned a questionnaire with ratings of 4 vignettes describing clinical presentations of child clients that systematically varied in symptom specificity for sexual abuse. The more specific the presentation, the more likely respondents were to suspect and report sexual abuse. Variability was greater when the symptoms were more ambiguous. Clinical suspicion of sexual abuse did not necessarily lead to reporting, especially when symptom presentation was nonspecific. Respondents showed strong agreement about their reasons for reporting suspicions of abuse. However, there was less consensus about the reasons contributing to clinical decisions not to report suspected abuse. Women were more likely than men to suspect and report abuse at all levels of symptom specificity. Specialized training and experience in sexual abuse did not influence participants' beliefs about whether or not they would report cases.