engleski

A comparative vignette study of social workers’ reactions to child abuse and neglect within Croatian and Swedish social welfare system

The purpose of this study is to compare Croatian and Swedish social work in the field of protection of the best interest of the child that is exposed to risk in its own family. Both countries have agreed to follow the regulations in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and have corporal punishment forbidden by law, although Sweden for longer period (since 1979) than Croatia (since 1999). In this study we have explored Croatian (N=89) and Swedish (N=72) social workers’ assessments and reactions on identical situations of a child in a family. Short vignettes described three stages of a child maltreatment case. Social workers answered a series of open-ended questions and rating scales concerning their perception of risks and their subsequent reactions. They also rated how appropriate specific interventions would be. The study examined if certain personal, professional and socio-demographic characteristics of social workers influenced their perceptions of the case. The Swedish and Croatian social workers show similarities in professional motivation to protect the child. Despite this similarity they show significant differences about the perception of who is the main client. More Croats than Swedes think that it is family. More Swedes than Croats think it is the child. There seem to be different rhetoric discourses in the countries.

child abuse; assessment; intervention; vignette

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