Family risk assessment: characteristics of families with child abuse notifications in Australia

Abstract

Valid and reliable assessments are required by Courts to assist in the determination of child-at-risk findings and in the allocation of abused children into care. This study reports on the construct validation of an actuarial risk assessment instrument: the Family Risk of Abuse and Neglect (FRAAN). One hundred and fifty expert reports were reviewed, and two superordinate constructs representing history of child abuse and appropriate parenting skills, respectively, were extracted from the reports. The results revealed that high FRAAN scores were associated with a history of investigations for child abuse, but there was no relationship between FRAAN scores and the second construct. The results support the validity of the FRAAN for assessing risk factors associated with child abuse.