Damien W. Riggs, Dan Thorpe, Lara King, Amy Duke, Melanie K. T. Takarangi, Alhassan Abdullah, Ros Wong, Sean Lappin, Loryn Sykes, Joel McGregor, Ivana Osenk, Ben Lohmeyer
{"title":"Mandatory Reporting of Adverse Childhood Events Identified in the Context of Data Collection: A South Australian Experience","authors":"Damien W. Riggs, Dan Thorpe, Lara King, Amy Duke, Melanie K. T. Takarangi, Alhassan Abdullah, Ros Wong, Sean Lappin, Loryn Sykes, Joel McGregor, Ivana Osenk, Ben Lohmeyer","doi":"10.1002/car.70138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/car.70138","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this brief report, we consider our journey with collecting adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) data from primary school-aged children living in South Australia. Although collecting these data is in itself not notable or worthy of a brief report, our journey in collecting these data resulted in high rates of disclosure of ACE, leaving us with the challenging decision of whether or not to make mandatory reports about a large number of our participants. In this brief report we provide reflections on this journey, from data collection challenges through to shared decision making about mandatory reporting. To provide some background for our own experiences, we first briefly canvas: (1) literature exploring the topic of researchers making mandatory reports on the basis of suspected child abuse, (2) the question of parental gatekeeping in terms of collecting ACE data, (3) mandatory reporting in the Australian context and (4) the challenges in using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q: Felitti et al. <span>1998</span>) for collecting ACE-related data. Our aim is to provide other researchers with insights as to the complexities associated with making decisions about mandatory reporting.</p><p>The project that we report in this paper involved a Tier 1 trauma-informed intervention. This intervention was an 8-week, group-based programme that aimed to equip students aged 8–11 years old with the knowledge, resources and experiences to practice emotional regulation and to support others. Undertaken in three South Australian primary schools in 2025, the intervention was evaluated using pre- and post-intervention measures, including the ACE-Q. Importantly, we did not expect to see changes in the ACE-Q as a result of the intervention. Rather, the ACE-Q was solely measured at baseline to assess whether or not greater exposure to adverse childhood events impacted the efficacy of the intervention.</p><p>At the three schools, parents in eligible classes were provided with full information about the project, including a copy of the measures, and were asked to provide consent to their child participating. These materials are provided as Appendix A. In the information to parents, we specifically stated that ‘there are questions in the survey about if your child has experienced trauma, neglect, abuse, or parental death. We have attached a copy of the survey questions for your information’. Students were also provided with age-appropriate information about the project and were asked to assent to participation. These materials are provided as Appendix B.</p><p>Students completed the measures during class time, with support from both school staff and a member of the research team. During this process, the research team member took extensive field notes. These field notes documented a number of data collection issues related to the ACE-Q. Some children specifically asked if the information in the measure would be shared with their parents. One teache","PeriodicalId":47371,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse Review","volume":"35 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2026-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/car.70138","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148237501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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