Teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse: problems with existing research leading to new scale development

J Child Sex Abus. 2010 May;19(3):310-36. doi: 10.1080/10538711003781392.

Abstract

This paper details a systematic literature review identifying problems in extant research relating to teachers' attitudes toward reporting child sexual abuse and offers a model for new attitude scale development and testing. Scale development comprised a five-phase process grounded in contemporary attitude theories, including (a) developing the initial item pool, (b) conducting a panel review, (c) refining the scale via an expert focus group, (d) building content validity through cognitive interviews, and (e) assessing internal consistency via field testing. The resulting 21-item scale displayed construct validity in preliminary testing. The scale may prove useful as a research tool, given the theoretical supposition that attitudes may be changed with time, context, experience, and education. Further investigation with a larger sample is warranted.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude*
  • Australia
  • Awareness
  • Child
  • Child Abuse, Sexual / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Child Abuse, Sexual / psychology*
  • Faculty*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mandatory Reporting*
  • Middle Aged
  • Surveys and Questionnaires