Social Workers' Intervention Preferences in Cases of Parental Violence Toward Intellectually Disabled Children

• NCJ Number: 224398
• Journal: Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: 2008 Pages: 439-455
• Author(s): Guy Enosh; Ilana Duvdevany; Lilach Arzi
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This Israeli study identified factors that influence the intervention decisions of social workers in cases of parental violence toward intellectually disabled (ID) children.

Abstract

The study found that the more severe the parental aggression toward an ID child, the higher the probability of intervention. The effect of parental aggression on the choice of type of intervention was lowest for partial removal of the child to out-of-home care, followed by assigning a home counselor, summoning the parents to a counseling session, involving the police, and involving a welfare officer. Although the ID child’s aggressiveness toward the parents did not warrant counseling in the opinions of the social workers, the chances of recommending a home counselor increased somewhat with higher levels of child violence; and the probability of recommending partial removal to out-of-home care increased even more. Higher levels of child violence also increased the chances of involving the police and a welfare officer. Although the aggressive behavior of the ID child had a lesser influence than parental aggression on the social workers’ decisionmaking, it did have an important and increasing role on their preference for more intrusive and authoritative interventions, even after controlling for the effects of parental aggression. The authors advise that greater priority should be given to educating parents about the reasons for and ways to respond appropriately to ID children’s aggressive behavior. The study sample consisted of 59 social workers from welfare agencies in the northern and central regions of Israel who worked with families with an ID child. Fifteen vignettes were developed that portrayed violent interactions between an ID child and a parent. The study participants rated the severity of the behaviors and then indicated their preference for intervention from six options. 3 tables and 40 references