NCJ Number
204840
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: 2003 Pages: 133-135
Date Published
2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper critiques the Goodman et al. study of recall of child sexual abuse (CSA) among a sample of adolescent and adult survivors whose cases involved the prosecution of the alleged perpetrator.
Abstract
The critique focuses on the limitations of the CSA cases due to their having passed the strict selection criteria for prosecution. These restrictions had the advantage of providing strong evidence to verify the CSA and the accuracy of subsequent recall, but they carried the disadvantage of excluding from participation those cases that lacked the characteristics of those accepted for prosecution. This must call into question the generalizability of the findings. The most significant finding from the study, albeit one not emphasized by the researchers, is that 19 percent of the CSA survivors did not, for whatever reason, disclose the CSA experience in interviews some 13 years after the case was prosecuted. George Beadle, the Nobel-Prize-winning geneticist, used to tell his students, "Cherish your exceptions!" In the Goodman et al. study, the 19 percent who did not disclose their CSA constituted the exception that should be the focus of future research. Researchers should attempt to determine why survivors of CSA whose victimization was exposed to formal investigation and prosecution did not disclose their CSA. 4 references