PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND OPINIONS ABOUT PHYSICAL CHILD ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES (FROM CHILD ABUSE AND VIOLENCE, 1979, BY DAVID G GIL - SEE NCJ-56404

• NCJ Number: 56408
• Author(s): D G GIL; J H NOBLE
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: AMS Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: FIRST PUBLISHED IN CHILD WELFARE, V 48, N 7 (JULY 1969)

Annotation

THE FINDINGS OF A 1965 NATIONAL SURVEY OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES REGARDING CHILD ABUSE ARE SUMMARIZED.

Abstract

OVER 80 PERCENT OF THE 1,520 RESPONDENTS HAD RECENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE GENERAL PROBLEM OF CHILD ABUSE. ABOUT 79 PERCENT KNEW OF ONE OR MORE SPECIFIC INCIDENTS OF ABUSE. NEWSPAPERS, RADIO, AND TELEVISION WERE THE MAJOR SOURCES OF SUCH KNOWLEDGE. ABOUT HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS KNEW OF CHILD PROTECTIVE AGENCIES IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. URBAN DWELLERS WERE LEAST AWARE OF THESE AGENCIES. NEARLY HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS SAID THEY WOULD NOTIFY A WELFARE AGENCY OF ABUSE, 23.6 PERCENT SAID THEY WOULD NOTIFY THE POLICE, AND 13.7 PERCENT SAID THEY WOULD INTERVENE DIRECTLY. ALMOST 77 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS THOUGHT THEY WOULD INTERVENE DIRECTLY IF THEY ACTUALLY SAW A CHILD BEING ABUSED. OVER HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS THOUGHT THAT ANYBODY COULD BE CAPABLE AT SOME TIME OF INJURING A CHILD, ALTHOUGH ONLY 22.3 PERCENT THOUGHT THEMSELVES CAPABLE OF SUCH BEHAVIOR. SLIGHTLY OVER HALF OF THE RESPONDENTS FELT THAT ABUSED CHILDREN SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THEIR HOMES ONLY AS A LAST RESORT, ALTHOUGH 36 PERCENT FELT THE ABUSED CHILD SHOULD BE REMOVED UPON THE FIRST REPORT OF ABUSE. RESPONDENTS GENERALLY WERE SYMPATHETIC IN THEIR FEELINGS TOWARD ABUSERS, TENDING TO FAVOR SUPERVISION AND TREATMENT OVER PUNISHMENT. ALMOST 55 PERCENT THOUGHT THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HANDLING CHILD ABUSE CASES BELONGS IN SOCIAL WELFARE AGENCIES, WHILE 22.7 AND 14 PERCENT FELT THE RESPONSIBILITY BELONGS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND HEALTH AGENCIES, RESPECTIVELY. BASED ON THE RESPONDENTS' PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF INCIDENTS OF ABUSE IN THE YEAR PRECEDING THE SURVEY, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT AS MANY AS 2.53 TO 4.07 MILLION INCIDENTS, OR 13.3 TO 21.4 INCIDENTS PER 1,000 POPULATION, TAKE PLACE EACH YEAR. FACTORS LIMITING THE ACCURACY OF THE ESTIMATE ARE EMPHASIZED. NO TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)