For child welfare professionals, the decision to initiate involuntary care is far from easy. It often involves choosing the lesser between two evils. Given the significant impact of these decisions...Show moreFor child welfare professionals, the decision to initiate involuntary care is far from easy. It often involves choosing the lesser between two evils. Given the significant impact of these decisions on families, it is crucial to understand which factors influence risk assessment and how the decision-making process can be structured as accurately as possible, minimizing the risk of adverse outcomes. This study focuses on the characteristics of the decision-maker, specifically the personal attributions that child welfare professionals hold regarding involuntary care. The sample consisted of 89 child welfare professionals from The Netherlands, who registered families at the Jeugdbeschermingstafel between December 2022 and January 2024. It was hypothesized that positive attributions toward involuntary care would be associated with a higher likelihood of initiating such care, while negative attributions would be related to fewer decisions to initiate involuntary care. Furthermore, it was expected that the use of structured risk assessment tools would reduce the impact of personal attributions on the decision made, indicating an interaction effect. To formulate an answer to the research questions, binary logistic regression analyses with interaction terms were performed. No significant effects of attitudes toward involuntary care were found. However, some trends were found that suggest a positive relationship between professionals’ attitudes and the decision to initiate involuntary care, as well as a negative relationship between the use of risk assessment tools and the influence of attitudes on this decision. As these effects were not statistically significant, the results of this study should be deemed exploratory. They provide valuable guidelines for future research, which could investigate the use of different kinds of risk assessment tools, the role of intuition, and other factors that influence the decision-making process in the context of involuntary care.Show less
