Child Sexual Abuse Evaluations

Abstract

Accurate estimates of true and false child sexual abuse evades researchers and the determination of whether sexual abuse has occurred is a complex problem. In recent years, the research community has been polarized over whether child victims of sexual abuse or nonabuse are grossly misidentified, to what degree children are suggestible, and whether false positive or false negative errors create the greatest harm. This chapter describes the scientific‐practitioner model for evaluating allegations of child sexual abuse, a model previously proposed by the author. According to this model, conclusions regarding child sexual abuse are based upon empirically established relationships between data and the behavior in question, rather than on subjective opinions. To address critical issues in these assessments, this chapter reviews two sources for information: published research and the law. Child sexual abuse is defined, focusing on risk factors for abuse and the meaning of symptoms. Studies citing the incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse are reviewed. Topics include early memories, the impact of stress on memory, and the development of autobiographical memory. Since recall is subjected to the effects of suggestibility, research on this topic is considered. The structure of the assessment interview and a review of the research on the three most frequently used evaluation tools (anatomical dolls, projective instruments, and drawings) is described.

Admisibilidad en contextos forenses de indicadores clínicos para la detección del abuso sexual infantil

“…Trabajos en esta línea han sido ampliamente criticados por la comunidad científica, por su escasa rigurosidad metodológica, principalmente por la falta de estandarización de estas pruebas, existiendo consenso al desaconsejar su uso para la evaluación del abuso sexual infantil, especialmente en el contexto forense (Allen y Tussey, 2012;Kuehnle, 2003;Lally, 2001;Smith y Dumont, 1995). Lilienfeld, Wood, y Garb (2000) en un meta-análisis, revisaron el estado actual de la literatura en relación con las propiedades psicométricas (normas, fiabilidad, validez y utilidad del tratamiento) de las tres técnicas proyectivas más utilizadas: Test de Rorschach, Test de Apercepción Temática (TAT), y Test Gráficos.…”

A Commentary on O’Donohue et al.’s “Analyzing Child Sexual Abuse Allegations”

“…Certainly in the vanguard for camp two (i.e., a protocol for evaluating the forensic evaluations) is the work of Kuehnle (1996Kuehnle ( , 2002, whose groundbreaking book presented a model using multiple hypotheses for assessing CSA. Kuehnle's work drew heavily from the work of Karen Saywitz, Gail Goodman, Steven Ceci, Mark Everson, Barbara Boat, and Kathleen Faller (Kuehnle, 1996, p. 2).…”

Playing in Their Sandbox: Professional Obligations of Mental Health Professionals in Custody Cases

“…This is a particular risk when a child has already been exposed to parental conflict, suggestive interviews and=or other events that might have influenced the memory and=or the content of her play (Pezdek & Roe, 1997). Additionally, it would be critical for Dr. Well-Intentioned to explain that there are no reliable data that differentiate the play of abused children from the play of non-abused children (Kuehnle, 2003;Kuehnle & Kirkpatrick, 2005). …”