NCJ Number
183185
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2000 Pages: 161-168
Editor(s)
Mark Chaffin
Date Published
2000
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Projective techniques, for example, Rorschach and human figure drawings, are sometimes used to detect child sexual abuse, but the authors contend they should not be used because many of the studies purportedly demonstrating their validity are flawed and none of the projective test scores have been well replicated.
Abstract
New meta-analyses were conducted to analyze the results from studies identified by West (1998). Both non-significant and statistically significant results were considered, and were coded as favoring projective techniques or not favoring projective techniques. Even though West determined projective tests constituted a valid method for detecting child sexual abuse, the new meta-analyses indicated that West's research was flawed because she excluded all non-significant results. Further, given that positive findings obtained by West have not been replicated, incremental validity has not been established, and normative data are not available for many minority groups, the authors believe that projective techniques should not be used to detect child sexual abuse. They indicate, however, that the use of projective techniques will continue to be debated. 48 references and 3 tables