A social worker is interviewing the 19-year-old single mother of a 5-year-old girl after receiving reports of alleged child abuse from a teacher. The social worker learns that the mother also has previous substantiated allegations of child abuse as well. The factor that carries the MOST weight in the assessment of abuse is:

• A. The lack of involvement from the child's father.
• B. The previous substantiated report of child abuse.
• C. The age of the child's mother.
• D. The mother's current employment status.

Answer: (B)