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When lay jurors are unfamiliar with key evidentiary issues, expert evidence, judicial instructions and group deliberation may enhance their understanding of this evidence. Systematic steps to assess the relationship between juror biases in cases of child sexual abuse are offered as an example to illustrate a programmatic research approach. Using pr...
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... educative intervention presented by the trial judge increased the conviction rate by approximately 5%, but this increase was not statistically significant ). Analysis of the mean conviction rate by proportion of correct items on the posttrial CSA knowledge questionnaire (high versus low score groups) revealed that jurors with fewer misconceptions in both the control and intervention groups voted to convict at about the same rate, whereas jurors who endorsed more misconceptions were significantly less likely to vote to convict, as shown in Figure 6. These findings confirmed the relationship between jurors' posttrial CSA knowledge and verdict. ...
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... Theoretical dual process models of persuasion and decision-making, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo 1986) and the Heuristic Systematic Model (Chaiken & Trope 1999), have been applied successfully to analyse the way juries assess the credibility of lay and expert witnesses in reaching a verdict (Bornstein & Greene 2011;Freckleton, Goodman-Delahunty, Horan & McKimmie 2016;Goodman-Delahunty et al. 2016a;Goodman-Delahunty et al. 2016b). The models anticipate that at times, juries will be influenced by the message or content of the evidence presented at trial, and at other times, by the messenger or witness, independent of the content of the evidence. ...
The underlying principle of a jury trial is to be judged by one’s peers. Defendants who don’t share the same cultural and linguistic background as the jurors can hardly be considered peers. Interpreters are needed to bridge the language gap when defendants cannot speak the language of the court; but language is not the sole factor that may impinge on jury perceptions of the defendant. The mode of interpreting, the position of the interpreter in the court, and the location of the interpreter have been shown to make a difference. Whether jury perceptions of the interpreter affect their perceptions of the defendant is yet unknown. This paper reports the results of an experimental study of simulated criminal jury trials in Sydney, Australia, that explored this issue.
... Although there is no scientific evidence to suggest that false (malicious) allegations of CSA are a frequent phenomenon, that they constitute the majority or even a sizable minority of all reported cases (O'Donohue & Cirlugea, 2016), many professionals are convinced about the high incidence of this phenomenon and their ability to recognize it. In this context, several authors point out that false, intuition-based assumptions and beliefs about how a real victim should react to a CSA may lead to inadequate questioning of their credibility (Cossins, 2006;Fanflik, 2007;The Crown Prosecution Service, 2013;National Crime Victim Law Institute, 2014), and to conclusions that the cases are unfounded and/or that they are false allegations (Goodman-Delahunty et al., 2016). 1 ...
Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is one of the most serious socio-pathological phenomena. However, its identification is challenging and linked to the risk of false positive and false negative conclusions, with far-reaching consequences for the lives of those affected. Incorrect assessments of suspected CSA cases can be made not only by lay people, but also by helping professionals who gather and evaluate information, consider further procedures and make decisions. Aim: The aim of the presented review study is to summarize current scientific knowledge that answers two key questions. (1) what contributes to errors in the assessment of relevant cases; and (2) how these errors can be prevented. Method: Previous research has shown that personal beliefs significantly influence the processes by which individuals search for, store, and interpret relevant information (Kahneman et al., 1982). For the purposes of this study, databases of scientific publications were primarily searched for research papers that mapped the beliefs of helping professionals in relation to CSA, as well as papers on strategies to reduce errors in the assessment processes of relevant cases. Results: We identified three significant groups of beliefs that could lead to misjudgments of suspected CSA cases: (1) Misconceptions about CSA-especially about: (a) the prevalence and nature of CSA (including the assumption that CSA usually involves the use of physical force and sexual intercourse); (b) the CSA perpetrators (e.g., that they are mentally disturbed or sick; that CSA committed by a woman has a less harmful effect on victims than CSA with a male perpetrator; that the victim's peer cannot be the perpetrator); (c) the victims' responses to sexual abuse (including the dynamics of disclosure about CSA experiences; the dynamics of behavior in further contact with the perpetrator); (d) the memory performance of child victims during forensic interview (especially regarding the expected amount of details and consistency of testimony); (e) the way of conducting interrogations with suspected CSA victims (including the sensitivity of professionals to suggestive techniques); (f) the CSA diagnosis method (including the assumption that spontaneous game observation is a good method for assessing suspected CSA); (g) the frequency of false accusations. (2) Beliefs related to the implications of the case assessment-especially: (a) excessive trust in the testimony of children versus skepticism (some professionals may tend to rule out false accusations and thus disregard the rights of the accused person, while others may approach suspected CSA cases with the a priori belief that a high percentage of CSA cases are untrue and therefore do not take great account of the rights and interests of the suspected victim); (b) beliefs about the functioning of the child welfare system (where distrust in this system may encourage professionals to fail to fulfill mandatory reporting regarding suspected CSA cases); (c) an emphasis on sensitivity versus specificity (i.e. either focusing on minimizing the occurrence of false negative conclusions to prevent the actual victim of the CSA from being identified and cared for, or concentrating on minimizing false positive conclusions to prevent the innocent person from being convicted); (d) beliefs regarding the removal of the child from the family. (3) Beliefs about one's own objectivity and expertise-especially the frequent false beliefs of professionals that with the increasing length of practice and the amount of experience with CSA cases, the level of expertise Človek a spoločnosť [Individual and Society], 2020, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 1-17. Beliefs of helping professionals within the context of child sexual abuse assessment 2 automatically increases. Experienced professionals can be simultaneously prejudiced and convinced of the correctness of their own erroneous beliefs. At the same time, more experienced professionals tend to have a more intuitive approach to assessing CSA cases. In this respect, various cognitive biases (especially patternicity, confirmatory bias, availability bias, anchoring, representativness heuristic, bias blind spot and the Dunning-Kruger) effect play a negative role. In the conclusion, the review study recommends several strategies in order to improve the practice and reduce errors in the assessment of the cases in question. It emphasizes the important role of the continuing education of relevant professionals in confronting participants with current scientific knowledge on CSA issues; encourages helping professionals to reflect on their own beliefs, which may influence the assessment of the cases in question, and recommends mastering the so-called Bayesian reasoning and effective methods to eliminate cognitive bias. At the same time, the study considers precise work with hypotheses, weighting evidence, supervision, the submission of expert opinions to independent review and slowing down of work strategies as an effective strategy of eliminating various prejudices. In addition, it proposes a multidisciplinary team approach to CSA case assessment-although the study does note that the impact of the group approach on the final outcomes of the case assessment process has not been sufficiently scientifically examined yet. Conclusion and implications: The study emphasizes that the beliefs of helping professionals and decision-making skills play an important role in the CSA case assessment process, and that without the targeted application of effective strategies to eliminate cognitive biases and prejudices, the quality of case assessments is endangered. The members of various helping professions (especially educators, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, police officers, prosecutors and judges) who come into contact with suspected CSA cases may find the review study useful. Although the content of the study is based on the results of foreign research, it has application potential in Slovakia, especially in relation to the preparation of content in the continuous education of professionals, the focus of supervision in helping professions, or the designing of Slovak research projects focusing on these issues.
... Results support the notion that educational training should target adults who frequently interact with children (parents, professionals, and any lay adult) and prevention efforts should not be limited to directly targeting children and parents (Wurtele, 2009). Other programs aimed at abuse prevention for developmental disability service providers, parents, home visitors, and teachers exist (Bowman, Scotti, & Morris, 2010;Hébert et al., 2002;Hans Zollner, Fuchs, & Fegert, 2014) as well as educative information to jurors aimed at reducing bias in CSA cases (Goodman-Delahunty, Martschuka, & Cossins, 2016). ...
Following disclosure, support from professionals (e.g., mental health clinicians, social workers, health care providers, teachers) can help increase resiliency in youth who experience child sexual abuse (CSA). Particularly, those who respond compassionately and competently, believe and report the abuse, do not blame the victim, and increase the family’s protective factors are best suited to decrease negative outcomes. Yet, research shows that many professionals are not adequately prepared to support families due to insufficient knowledge and misinformed beliefs (Pelisoli, Herman, & Dell’Aglio, 2015). Moreover, few assessments measure knowledge specific to the aftermath of CSA and few interventions aim to increase professional knowledge on outcomes with the goal of increasing child resiliency. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to (a) develop and evaluate a measure to assess knowledge and beliefs about the consequences of CSA and (b) develop and evaluate an online intervention that provides students and developing professionals with information about CSA outcomes, corrects misperceptions, and empowers adults to increase child resiliency. Two studies were completed to meet these aims. Findings from Study 1 confirmed that a sample of 143 university students and developing professionals lacked sufficient knowledge about CSA outcomes. The instrument created was determined to be suitable at measuring CSA knowledge and beliefs. The 408 participants in Study 2 first completed the pre-treatment measure of CSA knowledge, were randomly assigned to the online CSA intervention or the attention control group (training on youth development), then completed the post-treatment measure. A subset of the sample completed the CSA assessment again two weeks after initial participation to measure retention. Findings showed that the CSA webinar significantly increased participants’ knowledge of CSA outcomes and changed unsupportive beliefs. The control group demonstrated a nominal, yet significant, increase from pre- to post-test. Those who received the CSA training held more knowledge and supportive beliefs than those in the control group and this knowledge was broadly retained two weeks after completion of the training. Participants reported the CSA intervention was valuable and increased their motivation to support survivors. While several CSA-related interventions exist for adults, this intervention addressed gaps in current training efforts. Advisor: David J. Hansen
Monografia neprináša právnu analýzu problematiky sexuálneho zneužívania detí (hoci na viacerých miestach odkazuje na relevantné legislatívne aspekty a ponúka tiež stručný právny predhovor), ale kladie si za cieľ sprístupniť aktuálne vedecké poznatky, bez zohľadnenia ktorých môže byť aj právne uchopenie problematiky náchylnejšie na omyly.
V prvej kapitole autorka približuje skutočnosť, že definície a chápanie sexuálneho zneužívania detí sa v epidemiologických štúdiách, politických a práv¬nych dokumentoch rôznia. Analyzujúc tieto rozdiely a opierajúc sa o poznatky zo sociálnych vied, práva, vývinovej psychológie a etymológie, ponúka konceptuálny model sexuálneho zneužívania detí, v ktorom sú identifikované kľúčové komponenty tohto fenoménu. Úvodná kapitola prináša aj údaje o prevalencii sexuálneho zneužívania detí a o faktoroch, ktoré sa podieľajú na latencii tohto fenoménu. Dotýka sa tiež problematiky výskytu krivých obvinení ako aj obvinení zo sexuálneho zneužívania detí v kontexte poručenských sporov po rozchode alebo rozvode rodičovského páru.
Druhá kapitola sumarizuje kľúčové vedecké poznatky o mužoch, ženách i mladistvých osobách, ktoré sa dopúšťajú sexuálneho zneužívania detí. Zdôrazňuje skutočnosť, že nie všetci páchatelia sexuálneho zneužívania detí sú sexuálne deviantní a teda negatívny nález pri sexuologickom znaleckom vyšetrení nemožno chápať ako dôkaz, že osoba skutok spáchať nemohla. Kapitola prehľadne sumarizuje aj teórie vysvetľujúce sexuálne delikventné správanie a detailne približuje grooming (manipuláciu) ako súčasť konania a uvažovania páchateľov. Pozornosť venuje aj významu a kľúčovým komponentom intervencií voči páchateľom (vrátane terapeutických intervencií, probačného dohľadu a ochranných opatrení).
Tretia kapitola monografie je zameraná na obete sexuálneho zneužívania detí. Okrem ich profilu približuje následky primárnej viktimizácie, fenomén tzv. kontraintuitívnych reakcií na primárnu viktimizáciu, poukazuje na riziko a časté podoby sekundárnej viktimizácie obetí a problematiku vyhodnocovania všeobecnej a špecifickej vierohodnosti obetí.
Štvrtá kapitola sa sústredí na problematiku výsluchu detí – suspektných obetí sexuálneho zneužívania. Sumarizuje aktuálne vedecké poznatky o pamäti a výpovedi obetí sexuálneho zneužívania, objasňuje základné podmienky výsluchu detskej obete, opisuje postup výsluchu detskej obete a načrtáva stratégie na vysporiadanie sa so situáciami, kedy detské obete pri výsluchu neodhaľujú svoje zážitky.
Záverečná, piata kapitola upriamuje pozornosť na ľudský faktor a s ním späté riziká zlyhania v procese zhromažďovania a posudzovania dôkazov v prípadoch podozrení zo sexuálneho zneužívania detí. V tomto ohľade poukazuje na riziko predsudkov a kognitívnych skreslení u profesionálov, na prvky zabezpečujúce efektivitu výcviku profesionálov realizujúcich výsluchy poškodených, a napokon aj na potrebu reflektovania a prevencie sprostredkovanej (sekundárnej) traumatizácie profesionálov.
V prílohe publikácie zároveň čitatelia a čitateľky nájdu prehľadne štruktúrovaný návod na vedenie výsluchu u detí, u ktorých je podozrenie že sa stali obeťami sexuálneho zneužívania detí. Ide o slovenský preklad tzv. NICHD protokolu, ktorý je vo svete považovaný za zlatý štandard vo vedení takéhoto výsluchu.
Štúdia sa venuje otázke výskytu sexuálneho zneužívania detí (CSA) a problému latencie. Upozorňuje, že pri úsilí o identifikáciu prípadov CSA hrozí dvojaké riziko mylných záverov (mylne pozitívne a mylne negatívne závery). Zdôrazňuje, že nepodložené a nepravdivé obvinenia nie sú synonymom krivých obvinení a ponúka prierez teoretickým modelom ciest k nepravdivým obvineniam z CSA. Sumarizuje výsledky a limity zahraničných výskumov o výskyte krivých obvinení z CSA. Objasňuje prečo profesionálna skúsenosť ani systematické metódy posudzovania vierohodnosti výpovede nie sú spoľahlivými nástrojmi na odhalenie krivých obvinení z CSA. Pobáda k obozretnosti pred trúfalými tvrdeniami o výskyte krivých obvinení z CSA.
A validation study of the Child Sexual Abuse Knowledge Questionnaire
(CSA-KQ) was conducted on a sample of 1712 nonempanelled jurors in the
greater Sydney area, Australia. The CSA-KQ contains nine items derived
from empirical findings on common misconceptions about typical features of
abuse offenses, children’s responses to child sexual abuse, and their ability to
give reliable evidence. Study 1 tested the factor structure of the questionnaire
in a sample of 843 nonempanelled jurors. The best model indicated by
Exploratory Factor Analysis had two factors: The Impact of Sexual Abuse on
Children and Contextual Influences on the Report. Study 2 cross-validated
the findings and tested the predictive validity of the CSA-KQ in a realistic
simulated trial in which an 11-year old complainant alleged abuse by her
grandfather. Confirmatory Factor Analysis replicated the findings of Study 1,
showing strong reliability for each of the factors (ρy = .70 to ρy = .80) and for
the CSA-KQ (ρy = .76). CSA-KQ scores were significantly correlated with
the perceived credibility of the complainant (r = .23). Moreover, the CSA-KQ
scores predicted verdict: jurors with greater knowledge about CSA were
more likely to convict the defendant than jurors who knew less about CSA.
