NCJ Number
188942
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2001 Pages: 149-178
Date Published
January 2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
An experimental study explored the relative influence of various factors on decision making in child sexual abuse evaluations and examined the differences in decision making by 56 experts and 63 laypersons.
Abstract
The research focused on the extent to which disclosure, doll play, affect, and collateral information affected the decision making processes of individuals confronted with an abuse allegation. The study used a randomized block partially confounded factorial design. Participants made likelihood and confidence ratings in response to six hypothetical cases of child sexual abuse. Four cases had varying combinations of the four types of information; two cases were constant across all raters. Participants also completed questionnaires regarding their attitudes and knowledge. Results revealed that disclosure and collateral information both had large effects on both rater groups. In contrast, doll play and affect had little or no effect on the decisions of either group. Experts were slightly more conservative in their judgments overall than were students. Experts also displayed more knowledge of the sexual abuse literature and more child-believing attitudes than did their student counterparts. The analysis concluded that concrete information such as disclosure statements and collateral information affected abuse decisions, while inferential data such as doll play and affect did not and that the goal of child abuse assessments may be the clarification of such concrete information, with the inferential data used only to guide inquiry. This conclusion argues against the concern that experts might jump to conclusions of abuse based merely on suggestive, symbolic material. Tables and 46 references (Author abstract modified)