Adolescents tend to be neglected in research examining child sexual abuse (CSA) interviews yet are often said to be particularly reluctant. This study examined reluctance among 119 10- to 17-year-old females questioned about suspected CSA (n = 25,942 responses), utilizing a scheme identifying...

Research has largely overlooked expressions of reluctance in commercially sexually exploited adolescent (“CSEA”) victims. This is problematic because gaining information from known victims is of the utmost importance in order to better serve the needs of current and potential future victims....

Little is known about the relation between law enforcement interviewing behaviors and commercially sexually exploited children’s (CSEC) reluctance. This study examined the relation between officers’ use of maximization, (references to) expertise, minimization, and support and adolescent CSEC...

Children's initial reports often play a key role in the identification of maltreatment, and a sizeable amount of scientific research has examined how children disclose sexual and physical abuse. Although neglect constitutes a large proportion of maltreatment experiences, relatively little...

This study examined the effects of credibility-challenging questions (n = 2,729) on 62 5- to 17-year-olds' testimony in child sexual abuse cases in Scotland by categorizing the type, source, and content of the credibility-challenging questions defence lawyers asked and assessing how children...

Background: Children alleging sexual abuse rarely exhibit emotion when disclosing, but they may be able to describe their subjective reactions to abuse if asked.Objective: This study examined the extent to which different types of questions in child sexual abuse interviews elicited subjective...

In child sexual abuse cases, a central part of the child’s testimony is their description of the abuse episode. However, children often struggle to describe the body mechanics of abuse, and miscommunications are likely. The present study examined questions about the mechanics of abuse in trial...

Controversy abounds regarding the process by which child sexual abuse (CSA) victims disclose their experiences, particularly the extent to which and reasons why some children, once having disclosed abuse, later recant their allegations. This study examined the prevalence and predictors of...

The underlying reasons for recantation in children’s disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been debated in recent years. In the present study, we examined the largest sample of substantiated CSA cases involving recantations to date (n = 58 cases). We specifically matched those cases to...

Purpose: The present study examined how children alleging sexual abuse are asked about clothing placement during abusive episodes, both in criminal trials and forensic interviews. The placement of clothing is of great importance, because it facilitates distinguishing abusive touch from...