Suppose that you work for the child social services agency in your county. Your job is to investigate instances of possible child neglect or abuse. After collecting your evidence, which may come from a variety of sources, you must decide whether to leave a child in the home or place the child in protective custody.

Specify the null and research hypotheses in this situation. What would constitute a Type I and a Type II error? Is a Type I or Type II error the more serious error in this situation? Why?

Null hypothesis: ∪ = No possible child abuse or neglect

Alternative hypothesis: Uₐ = Possible child abuse or neglect

Step-by-step explanation:

Null hypothesis: ∪ = No possible child abuse or neglect

Alternative hypothesis: Uₐ = Possible child abuse or neglect

A type I error occurs when you reject the null hypothesis when it is true. In this situation, a type I error occurs when you conclude on possible child neglect or abuse and place the child in protective custody

A type II error occurs when you accept the null hypothesis when it is false. In this instance, a type II error occurs when you conclude on no possible child abuse or neglect when there is and fail to remove the child from the home.

In this case, the type II error is the more serious error. Failure to remove the child when there is possible child abuse or neglect will lead to more detrimental effect. Although, the type I error is also serious, it is not so detrimental as the type II error.