The formulation of scale items for the best interest of the child

Abstract

Although there is a high reported incidence of child sexual abuse cases in South Africa, which in itself is cause for concern, a great concern is what happens to children who have reported abuse to the authorities. To what extent can children be assured that their reported incident will be investigated, processed and appropriately heard, and that a fair but just decision will be made that protects the child victim while also preventing the abuse from re-occurring? This study, which forms part of a larger study, is aimed at formulating a scale design and potential items for measuring child-centeredness, child participation and best interest of the child (BIOC) application based on the results obtained from Objectives 1 and 2 of the larger study. The scale items were identified by means of a focus group research design which allowed an opportunity for experts in a group setting to design items for the BIOC scale. Three focus group discussions were held with legal professionals with expert knowledge of the application of the BIOC principle and of child sexual abuse cases. During the focus group discussions, the potential list of items was modified by removing, changing or replacing words. Through this process, the potential list of items was refined, formulated and evaluated