Judges' Views of Child Abuse: A Survey of Attitudes and Experience

Abstract

Although judges most often make the final decision in cases of child abuse, the literature is relatively silent as to what they believe to be true about child abuse and neglect. From 224 district judges in the State of Texas, 36%, or 82, returned a 50-item questionnaire reasonably complete. The responses of these judges agreed with many major constructs in the literature on child abuse, but there were a number of important areas, e.g., family pathology, parent pathology, in which a majority of the judges differed from the literature. The 82 respondents showed considerable openness and flexibility in dealing with abuse.

Child Maltreatment Intervention: Directions and Issues

“…A recent survey by Justice, Friedrich, and Clark (1977) suggests health care professionals may find an "openness and flexibility" among judges when dealing with cases of abuse. Rather than considering the court as a last-resort punitive agent, psychologists and other health care professionals will benefit by regarding it as a potential catalyst for change, as well as an arbitrator and protector of the best interests of all concerned.…”