Child’s Religiosity, Ethnic Origin, and Gender: A Randomized Experimental Examination of Risk Assessment and Placement Decisions in Cases of Ambiguous Risk to Children From Low SES Families

Social workers are called upon as expert witnesses to assess risk to children and recommend interventions. It is hypothesized that risk assessments and decisions are influenced by the risk-to-child as well as personal attitudes and biases. We examined the role of the ethnic origin, religiosity, and child gender on assessments and recommendation. Methods: The current study used a survey-based balanced crossover experimental design. One hundred...