NCJ Number
129537
Journal
Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 21-32
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Allegations of intrafamilial child sexual abuse raised during custody or visitation litigation proceedings present child protective services and the courts with a decision-making dilemma which is made more difficult by the lack of objective scientific standards by which to evaluate whether a child has suffered sexual abuse.
Abstract
This article describes the multidisciplinary research project which developed from such a case. The scientific issues raised by the case include the nature of the evaluative task and decisionmaking criteria; clinical issues revolving around child, paternal, and maternal characteristics; the legal issues that include the unified nature of some State family court systems; the shift in focus from problem-resolution to fact-finding and disposition; and the use and weight of mental health professionals' expert testimony. The research project assembled a task force of mental health, child protective services, child advocacy, and medical and legal professionals to develop an objective instrument to validate allegations of child sexual abuse. The 15 subscales are applicable to all child sexual abuse cases. Three research studies in progress are detailed. The ranking study explores the consensus between mental health and legal professionals regarding the probable validity of sexual abuse claims. The reliability study examines the agreement between mental health professionals on the scoring of each item. The validity study analyzes the concurrence between the instrument and other independent criteria. 4 references (Author abstract modified)