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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV0390

Anticipated online harassment and its potential impact on clinical decision-making: A pilot study of mandatory child abuse reporting in Japan

ANTICIPATED ONLINE HARASSMENT AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING: A PILOT STUDY OF MANDATORY CHILD ABUSE REPORTING IN JAPAN

Although direct online harassment is rare, anticipated reactions may contribute to defensive practices and hesitation in reporting child abuse.

The study aimed to examine whether anticipated online harassment influences decisions about legally mandated child abuse reporting in Japan. An anonymous cross-sectional survey was administered to 37 eligible pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists working at a single hospital in Hyogo, of whom 33 responded (89.2%); descriptive statistics and exploratory subgroup comparisons were performed (ethics committee approval number 2025-42). Reports of direct online harassment were rare, at 3.0% (1/33); however, 30.3% of participants (10/33) indicated that they might hesitate to report, 84.8% (28/33) reported keeping more detailed records, and 66.7% (8/12) of the 12 respondents who reported difficulty seeking support could not identify a source of support they could turn to. Among the 28 physicians who reported concerns, the reasons were procedural burden (53.6%), complaints or litigation by families (50.0%), and online harassment (21.4%); defensive adaptations included detailed documentation (84.8%), consultation before reporting (84.8%), and explanations to families (57.6%), while anticipated hesitation was reported by 30.3% and anticipated delays in reporting by 9.1%. In exploratory comparisons, hesitation was numerically higher among physicians who had never submitted a report than among those who had (40.0% versus 22.2%), and among residents or physicians not working full-time than among full-time specialists (41.2% versus 18.8%). The authors note that these findings represent a possible precursor to, rather than evidence of, a chilling effect, and that online harassment may add a new digital layer to the multifactorial burden of reporting. The clinical implications emphasize the need for clearly identifiable, team-based pathways that support consultation before reporting and escalation, as well as debriefing sessions and legal support in cases of online harassment; limitations include the single-center design, small sample, measurement of anticipated rather than observed behavior, and exploratory subgroup comparisons.

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