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Gibbs, Jennifer, Coughlan, Barry and Morgan, Tessa (2024) Social Workers’ Perceptions of the Nature of Child Neglect: A Systematic Literature Review. The British Journal of Social Work, 54 (8). pp. 3619-3637. ISSN 0045-3102
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Abstract
Neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment in the UK and the USA. This article reviews research about how child neglect is perceived by social workers. We conducted a systematic review and identified fifty relevant studies, using a range of methodologies, published since the 1989 Children Act. The themes were identified iteratively and synthesised using a narrative method. The review found that despite evidence that neglect is associated with several adverse outcomes, neglect is a lower priority for social work intervention compared to other forms of maltreatment. This is particularly true for emotional neglect and neglect of older children. The review found that social workers conceptualise poverty and neglect as being distinctly different and try to address poverty through practical, non-punitive interventions. However, assessments could better recognise how deprivation exacerbates other risk factors for neglect. The review found a lack of knowledge about perceptions of neglect in adolescents and children with a disability and about the threshold for intervention when neglect is cumulative. Practice may be improved by better recognising and addressing the societal context to neglect allegations and the risk of long-term harm. Achieving this may have resource and training implications.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | child protection; child welfare; neglect; perceptions; social workers; thresholds |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > Children H Social Sciences > Economics > Wealth > Poverty K Law > KDK Republic of Ireland > Social legislation > Public welfare. Public assistance. Poor laws > Social work. Social workers. Social services |
| Divisions: | School of Business (- 2025) > Staff Research and Publications |
| Depositing User: | Tamara Malone |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Feb 2026 15:22 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Feb 2026 10:24 |
| URI: | https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9161 |
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