Of the nearly 3.6 million children who were the subjects of a Child Protective Service Investigation in 2006, maltreatment was substantiated or indicated in 28%. Nearly 9% of these substantiated/indicated cases were related to sexual abuse allegations.

When sexual abuse is alleged, children may face investigative interviews, family disruptions, a change in their school environment, mental health counseling, and even trial court testimony. This article reviews factors that affect the reliability of children's statements and provides guidelines for evaluators to help minimize the risk of their contaminating a child's report of sexual abuse.

Reliability of child sexual abuse allegations

Suggestible questions

Asked-and-answered

Inviting Speculation

Other people

Positive consequences

Negative consequences

Although these poor interview techniques were observed in the McMartin interview tapes, do such techniques actually elicit false allegations? Current research on this topic provides a clear answer: yes.

In one study, Yuille and colleagues examined the effects of using social influence and reinforcement on preschool children's immediate reports of an event they had witnessed in class. In this study, a male graduate student was introduced to the daycare class as Manny Morales. He wore a large silly hat and after introducing himself, he read from a book, placed a sticker on the back of each child's hand, handed out a napkin and cupcake to each child, and then said good-bye to the class.

One week later, children were interviewed about their experience with this entertaining visitor. One group of children was assigned to the social incentive group. In this group, statements were made to the children that they could be helpful and show good memory by reporting what Manny had done. Another group was assigned to the suggestive control condition in which suggestive questions alone were used. Researchers found that after a brief use of reinforcement and social influence techniques, nearly 60% of the children alleged that Manny had committed acts that he had not, such as breaking a toy, throwing a crayon, or stealing a pen.

A subsequent study of children aged 5 to 7 years examined whether inappropriate interview techniques could have a lasting effect on children's statements. This study involved a classroom visitor named Paco, who read a story, put on a pair of goofy glasses with a large plastic nose and mustache, handed out treats, then left the room after placing a sticker on each child's hand.

When interviewed a week later, children were asked about mundane but untrue events (such as "Did Paco tear a book?) and fantastic events (such as "Did Paco take you on a helicopter ride?") 52% of children who received reinforcement made false allegations that they had experienced fantastic events compared with 5% made by controls. In a second interview 2 to 3 weeks later, the children making fantastic claims maintained their allegations even when the reinforcement was discontinued.

The authors concluded that reinforcement quickly induces children to make persistent false allegations of wrongdoing. Corruptive effects on children's statements have also been noted when children are asked to guess or speculate on what might have happened or when a question that they have already answered is repeated.

Findings from these studies indicate that children will report false information when questioned suggestively about events that occur in a school setting. But will children also falsely report instances of being physically or sexually touched when, in reality, they were not? Current research indicates that children can and do make false allegations of being touched when misleading or inappropriate questions are used.

In a study by Saywitz and associations, 5 and 7-year-old girls had an external genital and anal examination as part of routine pediatric examination. Thirty-five girls in the same age range were not exposed to this type of touching as part of the pediatric examination. Of those girls not touched, 8% provided a false report that they were touched in their vaginal or anal area when they were asked directly if this occurred.

In a subsequent study of 3-year-old girls who also underwent a pediatric examination, researchers asked strongly suggestive questions about a doctor touching their anogenital regions, such as "Show me on the doll how Dr. F touched your genitals." Among girls whom the doctor did not touch, 50% falsely claimed that the doctor had inserted objects into their anogenital cavities. Both of these studies indicate that children can and will make false allegations if inappropriate interview techniques, such as leading questions, are used.

Forensic Interviewing of Children

Evaluating abuse allegations

Summary

Table 1 - Ground rules for a forensic interview of children

Table 2 - Evaluating the credibility of a child's sexual abuse allegation

References

Evidence Based References

The information on this webpage was prepared and provided by Charles L. Scott, M.D. Dr. Scott is professor of clinical psychiatry, chief of the Division of Psychiatry and the Law, and director of Forensic Psychiatry Residency at the University of California, Davis.

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