NCJ Number
240765
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2012 Pages: 404-412
Date Published
May 2012
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Because child protection workers (CPWs) often assess children at risk of abuse and neglect in situations of acute stress and conflict, this study assessed the stress-related responses of child protection workers and their subjective assessments of a child's risk in high-conflict situations.
Abstract
Study findings suggest that CPWs' stress responses are influenced by having initial contact with parties in a new case and a parent's demeanor during interviews; however, there were significant CPW stress responses whether or not the parent interview was confrontational. The scenario of a confrontational interview, however, elicited greater subjective anxiety than the non-confrontational scenarios. Some forms of risk-assessment tools used by CPWs in suspected child abuse and neglect cases appear to be more dependent than others on CPWs subjective and physiological stress responses. This suggests the need for further research in determining which aspects of risk-assessment tools are susceptible to the influence of CPWs' emotional responses to parents in interviews. Ninety-six CPWs participated in two simulated scenarios, one was non-confrontational and one was confrontational. In each scenario, participants conducted a 15-minute interview with a "mother" played by a specially trained actor. Following the interview, the CPWs completed two risk-assessment measures used in the field at the time of the study. Anxiety was measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at baseline and immediately following the completion of each interview. Physiological stress as measured by salivary cortisol was obtained at baseline and 20 and 30 minutes after the start of each interview. 2 tables and 48 references