Common Beliefs About Child Sexual Abuse and Disclosure: A College Sample

ABSTRACT

Adults’ common beliefs about child sexual abuse and disclosure were explored. Participants (N = 670) were questioned about key areas of child sexual abuse that could affect decision-making processes of jurors evaluating child sexual abuse cases. These areas included victim and perpetrator characteristics, medical and behavioral indicators of child sexual abuse, memories for the event, and disclosure of the event. The scientific literature pertaining to these same areas are reviewed. While individual beliefs were consistent with some areas of the scientific literature (e.g., victim and perpetrator characteristics), they strongly contrasted the literature in other important areas (e.g., memories for the event, indicators of child sexual abuse, and the likelihood of denial and recantation). Implications, including the option of providing expert testimony to reduce discrepancies, are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• delay
• expert testimony
• jury decision making
• lay beliefs
• memory
• recantation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katherine McGuire

Katherine McGuire, PhD, is a forensic psychology professor at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.

Kamala London

Kamala London, PhD, is a developmental psychology professor at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio.