Nurses' and Physicians' Recognition and Reporting of Child Abuse

Using labeling theory the authors investigated the influence of socioeconomic status, ethnic status, and level of injury on recognition and reporting of child abuse by nurses and physicians. Respondents judged vignettes (emergency room forms) in which these variables were experimentally manipulated. Physicians' judgments regarding child abuse were affected by socioeconomic status (SES), ethnic status, and level of injury. Nurses' judgments were affected by level of injury but not SES and ethnic status. The implications of nurse and physician judgments are then explored in regard to identification of treatment, research data from official records, and subsequent etiologic theories. The nurse's role as a member of the health-care team in recognizing and reporting child abuse is then considered.