Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2020, 56(1): 3-27 | DOI: 10.13060/csr.2020.001

Dealing with Parental Conflicts at the Child Protection Departments in the Czech Republic: Use of Defensive Practice and Its Factors

Kateřina Hejnová¹, Johana Chylíková²

¹ Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Karlova, Praha

² Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Praha

This study focuses on the approaches used by Czech social workers operating in the field of child protection to resolve parental conflicts and looks specifically at their inclination to employ defensive practice. Defensive practice involves prioritising regulations and prescribed rules over the interests of clients, i.e. parents and children. The aim of this study is to verify, with the help of a questionnaire, the theoretical connections between the use of defensive practice and several factors that represent working conditions and external pressures. The research indicates that the factors connected with the use of defensive practice to deal with parental conflicts have the opposite effect in the Czech Republic that that observed in international studies or have no influence whatsoever. Child protection social workers who emphasise compliance regard their working conditions as favourable and have somewhat conservative attitudes and beliefs. The authors' interpretation of the findings is that the emphasis on regulations in Czech child protection is not a defensive reaction to threatening working conditions, but an expression of loyalty to an organisation that offers them a pleasant work environment where they need not be afraid of any potential failures or consequences of their decisions. They also propose redefining Czech defensive practice by placing less emphasis on compliance as a reaction to unfavourable working conditions.

Keywords: parental conflict, guardianship, defensive practice, social work

Accepted: February 28, 2020; Published: March 1, 2020Show citation