"Parental Maltreatment, Regulatory Focus, and Recommending the Placement of Children in Foster Care"

A sample of child protection investigators read two detailed and realistic cases of children being victimized by parental maltreatment, after which they indicated how strongly they would recommend the children to be placed in foster care. One was a case of abuse whereas the other was a case of neglect. The investigators were more likely to recommend the children be placed in foster care in the case of abuse rather than neglect. Moreover, and as predicted by regulatory focus theory, the tendency to recommend foster care placement more for abuse than neglect was greater among investigators who were more prevention focused and less among those more promotion focused. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.