Case Factor Selection in Physical Child Abuse Investigations

This study used a repeated measures design to determine the number, type, and order of factors selected for decision-making in physical child abuse cases when workers lack formal decision-making guidelines. The main findings were that, (1) given the referral source and existence of previous report information, subjects then solicited information regarding the injury, parent attributes, and environmental conditions, in that order, with decreasing frequency, (2) less information was requested prior to decision-making for high or low risk cases than for medium-risk cases, and (3) disposition choice in medium risk cases fluctuated between court and no-court dispositions.