Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure and Interview Techniques

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key vocabulary terms and definitions related to child sexual abuse disclosure, interview techniques, and associated psychological factors.

Survey

A common methodology used to study disclosure patterns.

Disclosure age

Children are more likely to disclose abuse in an interview after the age of 4.

Retrospective surveys

Surveys of adults' reports of childhood abuse; the modal disclosure rate in childhood is ⅓.

Severity relationship

The data on the relationship between severity of abuse and length of delay to disclosure are mixed.

Denial rates

Of studies with substantiated cases of child abuse, denial rates are lower than in studies without substantiation.

Entrapment & Accommodation

The stage of CSAAS that has not been extensively studied.

Summit’s CSAAS

The first attempt to explain how children disclose sexual abuse.

False denial rate

On surveys, the false denial rate will understate abuse rates and overstate disclosure rates.

General conclusion

Most children disclose and do not recant allegations in a formal interview.

Retraction stage

The stage of CSAAS where children may feel regret for having disclosed sexual abuse.

Forward telescoping

Estimating the date of an event more recently than it actually occurred.

Survey reluctance

Reluctance to disclose abuse on surveys.

Estimate age consequence

Telescoping may result in estimating age at abuse as younger than it actually was.

Delayed disclosure

Surveys of adults allow investigation of delayed disclosure, but not denial.

Canadian courts CSAAS statement

The latest statement from Canadian courts is that CSAAS has been debunked.

False disclosure estimates

If respondents falsely remember disclosing abuse, estimates of disclosure rates will be overstated.

Adolescent disclosure

Adolescents are most likely to disclose abuse to a friend.

Report to authorities

Approximately 10% of those who report childhood sexual abuse report it to authorities.

Population surveys

May alleviate problems with representativeness and false allegations, but not false denials.

Include previously disclosed children

In studies, only including children who previously disclosed abuse decreases denial rates.

Allegations truth statement

Not all allegations of child maltreatment are true; most untrue allegations are honest mistakes.

Broad CSA definition effect

A broad definition may overstate disclosure rates and understate the rate of disclosing mild incidents.

Poor outcome factor

A negative reaction from the recipient is a significant factor in poor outcomes for children reporting abuse.

Early disclosure programs

Programs can help but it’s unclear if early disclosure ameliorates the effects of abuse.

Long delay consequences

Long delays to disclosure may affect the possibility of criminal proceedings and trial complications.

Survey reluctance hypothesis

Older adults may report higher disclosure rates due to more time to disclose; younger adults are less likely to disclose.

Underestimate denial rates

Factors such as sampling and suspicion bias can lead to underestimated denial rates in investigations.

Telescoping impact

Telescoping causes past events to be dated more recently, possibly understating delay lengths to disclosure.

Forgetting in research

Some adults may forget both abuse and its disclosure, skewing early discloser rates.

Inverted-U function

The relationship between age and disclosure during a forensic interview may reflect younger children being less likely to disclose.

Younger adult disclosure

Early disclosure rates may appear higher among younger adults due to survey reluctance.

Suggestive questions

Tag questions are inherently suggestive and may influence children's reports.

Anatomically-detailed dolls

Some children may engage in sexually suggestive behavior with anatomically-detailed dolls.

Legal jargon problem

Children may alter words they do not understand when confronted with legal jargon.

Negative question issue

Negative questions are linguistically complex and can confuse children.

Closed questions with Body Diagrams

Interviewers tend to ask more closed questions when Body Diagrams are included.

Frequency correlation

There is a positive correlation between actual frequency and estimated frequency of events.

IDK instruction

A good 'I don't know' instruction should include practice with answerable and unanswerable questions.

Comfort dogs role

Comfort dogs provide non-contingent comfort and may ease children's anxiety during interviews.

Draw and tell technique

Children provide more accurate information when asked to draw and tell than to just tell.

Research analysis challenge

Lab-based research may not reflect events that lead children into the legal system.

Forensic interview protocol need

Interviewers should have a well-structured practice interview to address children's understanding.

Positive outcomes of supportive interviews

Supportive interviews have been shown to lead to positive effects in children's reporting.

Cued invitation question example

A good cued invitation could be 'You mentioned X, tell me more about that.'

Children's emotional responses

Children’s 'I don’t know' response may signal various internal states such as confusion.

Repetition effects

Repeated interviews can lead to reminiscence but can also influence accuracy negatively.

Variable details concern

Variable details in repeated events should be closely monitored to avoid suggestibility.

Interviewer bias impacts

Interviewer bias can affect both the interviewer and the interviewee during the process.

According to Thompson, Clark-Stewart, and Lepore (1997), what is a potential negative consequence of repeated interviews with children?

Repeated interviews can negatively influence the accuracy and completeness of children's reports, especially regarding suggestibility.

What did Garven et al (2000) demonstrate about the effectiveness of different question types in child forensic interviews?

Garven et al (2000) showed that highly structured protocols using open-ended invitations (like the NICHD protocol) elicit more accurate and detailed reports from children compared to less structured or more suggestive questioning.

How did Principe and Schindewolf (2012) investigate the impact of 'truth' promises on children's reports?

Principe and Schindewolf (2012) found that 'truth' promises can sometimes make children more resistant to changing their initial statements, even when faced with contradictory evidence, potentially affecting their willingness to correct errors or admit to memory failures.

Briefly describe the main finding of the Sam Stone study by Leichtman and Ceci (1995) regarding children's suggestibility.

The Sam Stone study (Leichtman and Ceci, 1995) demonstrated how easily young children could develop false memories and be persuaded to report events that did not happen through suggestive questioning and social pressure.

How do Ceci and Bruck (1993) define suggestibility? Why is this definition helpful?

1. Ceci and Bruck (1993) define suggestibility as how encoding, storage, retrieval, and reporting of events can be influenced by social and psychological factors.

2. This definition is helpful because it includes both internal and external influences on the child, and it considers factors before, during, and after the target event.

What is the significance of Summit's CSAAS in the study of child sexual abuse disclosure?

Summit's CSAAS (Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome) was the first systematic attempt to explain the complex patterns and stages through which children disclose sexual abuse. It helped clinicians understand behaviors that might otherwise seem contradictory, though some stages (like entrapment & accommodation) have not been extensively studied, and its overall validity has been questioned by Canadian courts.

What is the current stance of Canadian courts regarding Summit's CSAAS, and what does this imply?

The latest statement from Canadian courts is that CSAAS has been debunked. This implies that CSAAS should not be relied upon as a valid framework in legal proceedings for understanding or assessing child sexual abuse disclosures, challenging its historical influence in the legal system.

Explain the 'inverted-U function' as it relates to a child's age and disclosure during a forensic interview

The 'inverted-U function' suggests that very young children (under 4) are less likely to disclose abuse, disclosure rates then increase with age up to a certain point, and may potentially decrease again in very late adolescence, although the latter part is less emphasized. The initial low rate in younger children reflects their developmental limitations in memory, language, and understanding of abuse.

Why is the 'draw and tell' technique considered effective in obtaining information from children during interviews?

The 'draw and tell' technique is effective because it allows children to communicate information through a medium (drawing) that may be less cognitively demanding than purely verbal recall. Research shows children provide more accurate and often more detailed information when asked to *