OBJECTIVE Child neglect is often initially identified via adults who come into contact with children and report their suspicions to the authorities. Little is known about what behaviors laypersons view as constituting neglect and hence worth reporting. We examined laypersons' perceptions of neglect and poverty, particularly how these factors independently and jointly shaped laypersons' decisions about what warrants official reporting of neglect, and how laypersons' socioeconomic background related to their decisions. HYPOTHESES We anticipated that neglect would be correctly perceived as such, but that extreme poverty would also be perceived as neglect, with these latter perceptions being most pronounced among laypersons of higher socioeconomic background. METHOD In 2 studies, adults read vignettes about a mother's care of her daughter and rendered decisions about whether the mother's behavior met the legal standard of neglect and should be reported. In Study 1 (N = 365, 55% female, mean age = 37.12 years), indicators of poverty and neglect were manipulated. In Study 2 (N = 474, 53% female, mean age = 38.25 years), only poverty (housing instability: homelessness vs. not) was manipulated. RESULTS Laypersons often conflated poverty and neglect, especially in circumstances of homelessness. Laypersons of lower socioeconomic background were less likely to perceive neglect in general and to report an obligation to make a referral (R2s ranged from 17-26%, odds ratios ranged from 2.24-3.08). CONCLUSIONS Laypersons may overreport neglect in circumstances of poverty. Increasing public awareness of how to recognize and separate neglect from poverty may enhance identification of vulnerable children and families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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外行人会将贫困和忽视混为一谈吗？

目的儿童疏忽通常是通过与儿童接触并向当局报告怀疑的成年人来确定的。对于外行人认为哪些行为构成疏忽并因此值得报告，人们所知甚少。我们研究了外行人对忽视和贫穷的看法，特别是这些因素如何独立地共同塑造外行人关于哪些决定需要正式报告忽视的决定，以及外行人的社会经济背景如何与其决定相关联。假设我们预计，忽视会被正确地理解为事实，但是极端贫困也会被忽视，这是因为后者的观念在社会经济背景较高的非专业人员中最为明显。方法在2项研究中，成年人阅读了关于母亲的小插曲。照顾女儿，并就母亲的行为是否符合被忽视的法律标准做出决定，应予以报告。在研究1中（N = 365，女性55％，平均年龄= 37.12岁），对贫困和忽视的指标进行了处理。在研究2中（N = 474，女性53％，平均年龄= 38.25岁），仅操纵了贫困（住房不稳定：无家可归者与无家可归者）。结果外行经常将贫困和忽视混为一谈，特别是在无家可归的情况下。具有较低社会经济背景的外行一般不太可能被忽视，并不太愿意报告转介的义务（R2为17-26％，优势比为2.24-3.08）。结论在贫困的情况下，外行可能会夸大疏忽。公众对如何认识到贫穷和将其与贫穷分开的认识不断提高，可能会增加对脆弱儿童和家庭的识别。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2020 APA，保留所有权利）。