Racial and Gender Bias in Child Maltreatment Reporting Decisions: Results of a Randomized Vignette Experiment

Authors

Ian Ayres
Sonia Qin
Pranjal Drall

Abstract

In this randomized vignette experiment, we asked 4,000 respondents through a YouGov survey to decide how likely they would be to report potential instances of child maltreatment to authorities. We used racialized and gendered names to suggest the identities of the parents and children in each of the ten vignettes that were based on real-life events. We find that respondents were less likely to report potential child maltreatment when the vignette used non-white names to describe the family participants. Respondents were less likely to report when a male child was involved, and more likely to report when a male parent was involved. The uncovered racial and gender biases were more pronounced in vignettes that were of intermediate severity. We conclude by offering normative implications and suggesting policy interventions to mitigate the effect of these biases.

Recommended Citation

Ian Ayres, Sonia Qin, and Pranjal Drall, Racial and Gender Bias in Child Maltreatment Reporting Decisions: Results of a Randomized Vignette Experiment, 21 Hastings Race & Poverty L.J. 183 (2024).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_race_poverty_law_journal/vol21/iss2/3