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Reading between the lines: Investigating perceptual differences between social workers and parents in communicated violence against children

Granberg Flintberg, Jessika LU and Silfversparre, Johanna LU (2024) PSYK11 20241
Department of Psychology
Abstract (Swedish)
När våld mot ett barn rapporteras till myndigheter är det av yttersta vikt att
allvaret kan kommuniceras effektivt och bedömas korrekt. Denna studie
genomfördes i två faser och syftade till att undersöka perceptuella skillnader i
kalibrering och noggrannhet för fysiskt och psykologiskt våld mot barn. I fas 1
samlades förstahandsberättelser in från föräldrar (narratörer) som bevittnat
våld mot sina barn utövat av sin nuvarande partner eller tidigare partner,
tillsammans med en allvarlighetsbedömning. Dessa berättelser lästes och
våldets allvarlighet bedömdes sedan i fas 2 av socialsekreterare och en
kontrollgrupp (mottagare). Tidigare forskning om perceptuella skillnader
gällande våld i nära relationer indikerar att mottagare... (More)
När våld mot ett barn rapporteras till myndigheter är det av yttersta vikt att
allvaret kan kommuniceras effektivt och bedömas korrekt. Denna studie
genomfördes i två faser och syftade till att undersöka perceptuella skillnader i
kalibrering och noggrannhet för fysiskt och psykologiskt våld mot barn. I fas 1
samlades förstahandsberättelser in från föräldrar (narratörer) som bevittnat
våld mot sina barn utövat av sin nuvarande partner eller tidigare partner,
tillsammans med en allvarlighetsbedömning. Dessa berättelser lästes och
våldets allvarlighet bedömdes sedan i fas 2 av socialsekreterare och en
kontrollgrupp (mottagare). Tidigare forskning om perceptuella skillnader
gällande våld i nära relationer indikerar att mottagare underskattar allvaret av
psykologiskt våld och överskattar allvaret av fysiskt våld, vilket tyder på att det
existerar perceptuella skillnader mellan narratörer och mottagare. Vi
hypotiserade att denna trend även skulle återfinnas i vår studie. Resultaten
visade att socialsekreterare och kontrollgruppen bedömde fysiskt våld som mer
allvarligt än narratörerna, vilket tyder på en kalibreringseffekt. Noggrannheten
för psykologiskt våld var lägre än för fysiskt våld, vilket antyder att det är
svårare att kommunicera psykologiskt våld korrekt. Dock, i motsats till
förväntningarna, överskattade socialsekreterare allvaret av psykologiskt våld,
medan kontrollgruppen, i linje med våra hypoteser, underskattade denna typ av
våld. Dessa resultat belyser komplexiteten i bedömningen av
allvarlighetsgraden vid våld mot barn, men på grund av studiens
begränsningar, såsom bristen på randomisering och eventuella kulturella
skillnader, bör detta område undersökas vidare. (Less)
Abstract
When violence against a child is reported to authorities it is of utmost importance that the severity can be communicated efficiently and evaluated correctly. This study was conducted in two phases and aimed to investigate perceptual differences in calibration and accuracy for psychological and physical violence against children. In phase 1 first-person narratives from parents (narrators) who have witnessed violence against their children perpetrated by their current partner or ex-partner were collected along with a severity rating. These narratives were subsequently read and rated in Phase 2 by social workers and a normal control group (recipients). Previous research on perceptual differences regarding intimate partner violence indicate... (More)
When violence against a child is reported to authorities it is of utmost importance that the severity can be communicated efficiently and evaluated correctly. This study was conducted in two phases and aimed to investigate perceptual differences in calibration and accuracy for psychological and physical violence against children. In phase 1 first-person narratives from parents (narrators) who have witnessed violence against their children perpetrated by their current partner or ex-partner were collected along with a severity rating. These narratives were subsequently read and rated in Phase 2 by social workers and a normal control group (recipients). Previous research on perceptual differences regarding intimate partner violence indicate that recipients underestimate the severity of psychological violence and overestimate the severity of physical violence, suggesting that there exist perceptual differences between narrators and recipients. We hypothesized that this trend would be found for this study as well. The results showed that social workers and the control group rated physical violence as more severe than narrators, indicating a calibration effect. The accuracy for psychological violence was lower than for physical violence, suggesting that it’s harder to communicate psychological violence accurately. However, contrary to the expectations, social workers overestimated the severity of psychological violence, while the control group, in line with our hypotheses, underestimated this type of violence. These results highlight the complexity of severity assessment in cases of violence against children, but due to limitations such as no randomization and potential cultural differences this topic should be investigated further. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Granberg Flintberg, Jessika LU and Silfversparre, Johanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYK11 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Violence against children, Physical violence, Psychological violence, Assessment of violence, Perceptual differences, Communication, Social workers, Våld mot barn, Fysiskt våld, Psykologiskt våld, Bedömning av våld, Perceptuella skillnader, Kommunikation, Socialsekreterare
language
English
id
9160387
date added to LUP
2024-06-17 15:42:42
date last changed
2024-06-17 15:42:42
@misc{9160387,
  abstract     = {{When violence against a child is reported to authorities it is of utmost importance that the severity can be communicated efficiently and evaluated correctly. This study was conducted in two phases and aimed to investigate perceptual differences in calibration and accuracy for psychological and physical violence against children. In phase 1 first-person narratives from parents (narrators) who have witnessed violence against their children perpetrated by their current partner or ex-partner were collected along with a severity rating. These narratives were subsequently read and rated in Phase 2 by social workers and a normal control group (recipients). Previous research on perceptual differences regarding intimate partner violence indicate that recipients underestimate the severity of psychological violence and overestimate the severity of physical violence, suggesting that there exist perceptual differences between narrators and recipients. We hypothesized that this trend would be found for this study as well. The results showed that social workers and the control group rated physical violence as more severe than narrators, indicating a calibration effect. The accuracy for psychological violence was lower than for physical violence, suggesting that it’s harder to communicate psychological violence accurately. However, contrary to the expectations, social workers overestimated the severity of psychological violence, while the control group, in line with our hypotheses, underestimated this type of violence. These results highlight the complexity of severity assessment in cases of violence against children, but due to limitations such as no randomization and potential cultural differences this topic should be investigated further.}},
  author       = {{Granberg Flintberg, Jessika and Silfversparre, Johanna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Reading between the lines: Investigating perceptual differences between social workers and parents in communicated violence against children}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}