Share

Docs link child abuse to poor families

When a toddler has a broken bone, paediatricians may be more likely to suspect abuse if the family is lower-income, a new study finds.

Researchers found that paediatricians who read a fictional case report of a toddler with a leg fracture were more likely to suspect abuse if the child was described as coming from a lower-income family.

A hypothetical child's race, on the other hand, did not appear to influence doctors' opinions.

The second finding is somewhat surprising, according to the researchers. Studies looking at real-world cases have found that minority children are more likely to be evaluated for abuse than white children are. And it's well known that the child welfare system in the US has a disproportionate number of minority kids.

Paediatricians are not biased

"There's very strong evidence of a racial difference in how patients are handled," said lead researcher Dr Antoinette L. Laskey, a paediatrician at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

But, she told Reuters Health, the reasons for that have not been clear – Including whether doctors may act based on unconscious racial stereotypes.

The current results suggest "there's more than race involved," Dr Laskey said.

She was also quick to say, however, that the study doesn't mean paediatricians are consciously "classist" or otherwise biased when evaluating children's injuries.

The study, reported online in the Journal of Paediatrics, included 2,100 US paediatricians who responded to a survey that described one of four hypothetical cases.

Parents job sway doctors opinion

All cases included an 18-month-old with an "ambiguous" leg fracture. But the cases varied by race (black or white) and the family's economic situation; parents were described as having either professional jobs (accountant and bank manager) or working-class jobs (grocery clerk and factory worker).

Race had little effect on the doctors' responses. The study found that when the child was black, 45% of doctors believed there had possibly or almost certainly been abuse; another 32% were unsure. If the child was white, 46% of paediatricians suspected abuse, with 28% saying they were unsure.

In contrast, there was evidence that parents' job descriptions swayed doctors' opinions.

When the child's family was lower-income, 48%of paediatricians thought there'd been abuse, versus 43% when the family was higher-income.

Child abuse happens even in upper class

It's hard to know whether doctors' responses to a fictional case would be the same in real life.

And it's not clear, according to Dr Laskey, whether attitudes about socioeconomic status might explain some of the racial differences in child abuse reporting seen in earlier studies.

She also stressed that she does not think paediatricians are consciously basing their diagnoses on parents' job titles. But in general, unconscious stereotypes can influence anyone's thinking.

"People tend to think that child abuse or domestic violence doesn't happen in upper-middle-class families, but of course it does," Dr Laskey said.

 'We need to rely on the objective data'

It's important, she said, for doctors to be aware that unconscious generalisations could get in the way of diagnosing child abuse – either missing it in kids from affluent families, or over-diagnosing it in children from poorer or minority families.

"My big take-home message for doctors is that we need to rely on the objective data," Dr Laskey said.

It is true that studies have found children in poorer families to be at greater risk of abuse. But the poverty, itself, is not a causative factor, Dr Laskey said.

"Race and socioeconomic status shouldn't be things used in a diagnosis of abuse," she said.

(Amy Norton, Reuters Health, January 2012) 

Read more:

What is child abuse?
The Domestic Violence Act

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE