Citation

O'Donohue W, Fanetti M. Aggress. Violent Behav. 1996; 1(3): 269-281.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Mental health professionals often become concerned with the question of whether a child has been sexually abused, if only because the laws of most states stipulate that they are mandated reporters. Mental health professionals are also concerned with this question because: (a) sometimes it is the principle referral question, (b) recent epidemiological studies suggest a sufficiently high base rate for routine assessment, (c) it is relevant to the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and (d) it is relevant to treatment planning. In recent years, investigatory interviewing has become increasingly controversial with complaints of both false positives and false negatives. This paper critically reviews investigative interviewing and statement validity analysis. A model for understanding children's reports that is grounded in developmental information processing and hypothesis testing assessment is proposed.