Statement Validity Assessment (SVA) is a comprehensive credibility assessment system, with the Criterion-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) as a core component. Worldwide, the CBCA is reported to be the most widely used veracity assessment instrument. We tested and confirmed the hypothesis that CBCA scores are affected by event familiarity; descriptions of familiar events are more likely to be judged true than are descriptions of unfamiliar events. CBCA scores were applied to transcripts of 114 children who recalled a routine medical procedure (control) or a traumatic medical procedure that they had experienced one time (relatively unfamiliar) or multiple times (relatively familiar). CBCA scores were higher for children in the relatively familiar than the relatively unfamiliar condition, and CBCA scores were significantly correlated with age. Results raise serious questions regarding the forensic suitability of the CBCA for assessing the veracity of children's accounts.

The CBCA is the most commonly used deception detection. technique worldwide. Pezdek et al. (2004) used a quasi-experimental design to assess children's accounts of a traumatic medical procedure; CBCA ratings were higher for descriptions of familiar than unfamiliar events. This study tested this effect using an experimental design and assessed the joint effect of familiarity and veracity on CBCA ratings. Children described a true or a fabricated event. Half described a familiar event; half described an unfamiliar event. Two CBCA-trained judges rated transcripts of the descriptions. CBCA scores were more strongly influenced by the familiarity than the actual veracity of the event, and CBCA scores were significantly correlated with age. CBCA results were compared with results from other measures. Together with the results of K. Pezdek et al. (2004) these findings suggest that in its current form, CBCA is of limited utility as a credibility assessment tool.

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This article chronologically reviews the literature relating to subtle and obvious items of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Wiener's original development of subtle and obvious subscales, Seeman's support for the concept of subtlety, and Duffs arguments concerning empirical versus face validity are discussed. Later research exploring demand characteristics are then reviewed, such as the paradoxical relationships under differing instruction sets and population issues. The work from Auburn University researchers on the development of a 5-point subtlety scale, the interaction with personality factors, and individual scale research is critiqued.

Selective literatures providing perspective on recall of childhood sexual abuse memories are reviewed. These include known patterns of autobiographical memories in adulthood, metacognitive mechanism, interpersonal influences, and automatic cognitive processing which can influence judgments and reports of memory recalI in children and adults. Some factors in adult experience such as mood state, presence of emotional disorders, past and current relationsh@, and participation in psychotherapy which can influence autobiographical memory and recall of childhood events are delineated. Available studies directly exploring recovered memories of childhood abuse are considered in light of these studies. Finalb some applications to clinical work and suggestions for future research are outlined.