An investigation of racial partiality in child welfare assessments of attachment.

Results of this quantitative study of racial partiality in 249 child welfare assessments of attachment are unsettling because Caucasian caseworkers were found to give Caucasian mothers more positive assessments than African American mothers. It was heartening to find, though, that African American caseworkers' ratings of attachment were not significantly different for African American and Caucasian mothers. There were no differences in how Caucasian caseworkers assessed attachment for African American and Caucasian foster caregivers, and only 1 variable differed for how African American caseworkers assessed attachment for foster caregivers. Results indicate that the impact of race on assessments of attachment is complicated and may be influenced by communication gaps and negative racial stereotypes.