Date of Award

6-16-1998

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Denise Twohey

Abstract

Child abuse within the Hopi tribe is a major social problem that affects the mental health and well being of this Native American Indian community. Since 1985, many states have used risk assessment instruments to estimate the potential risk of child abuse. The present study evaluated a risk assessment instrument developed through combining items gathered from these different instruments for use with the Hopi.In this study, three raters used an instrument developed by the primary investigator (Reid, 1995) for review of records at the Hopi tribe's social service program. The files selected for review contained court substantiated evidence of reported abuse (physical, sexual, psychological, or neglect). The study assessed for inter-rater reliability. Two of the three raters were clinical social workers and members of the Hopi tribe. The third rater, the primary investigator, was a member of the Tiwa tribe (Isleta Pueblo) and a doctoral candidate in counseling psychology.This study found low inter-rater reliability. Although Raters 2 and 3 ranked similarly in terms of means, they lacked consistency in assessing cases on individual items. Rater 1 ranked the cases consistently lower than Raters 2 and 3. The low reliability may be related to the instrument being composed of universal items (developed and utilized in mainstream Western culture), or the items may have been worded ambiguously, causing raters to interpret them differently. Finally, since two raters were Hopi and one was not, cultural differences, and differing familiarity with the culture could have influenced their interpretations of the cases. For future risk assessment instruments, the items should include Hopi cultural specific items. Understanding the culture from within, rather than from without, might allow investigators to better identify the potential risks of child abuse in specific tribes such as the Hopi.

Download

Share

COinS