Recently there has been increased civil litigation by adults suing parents and others for sexual abuse following the recovering of memories of the abuse through therapy. The memories are recovered with the help of therapists who use concepts such as repression and dissociation to account for the lack of memories and who then use techniques such as hypnosis and survivors' groups. However, the claims of repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse recovered in the course of therapy are unlikely to be supported by empirical data.
Child sexual abuse allegations arising during divorce and custody conflicts are complicated and difficult. Most professionals believe that the highest percentage of false allegations occurs in this circumstance, but there is disagreement over just how many of these allegations are false. In evaluating cases of suspected sexual abuse, the professional must remain open and objective, carefully examine each case, and take an empirical stance. Assessment and evaluation must be done with rigorous adherence to the highest standards of the profession, and professionals must attend to the characteristics of real versus false allegations. They must not immediately dismiss an allegation as false because the parents are in the midst of a divorce but must also guard against presuming guilt and aligning themselves with the reporting parent's agenda.Child sexual abuse allegations arising during a divorce and custody dispute present unusual difficulties. Any professional response to the accusations is complicated by the young age of the children involved, possible motivations of adults, and the need to protect the rights, interests, and welfare of the child and the accused parent. Mantel1 (1 988) observes that child sexual abuse allegations tend to develop a life of their own that resist satisfactory resolution. He suggests that the process of evaluating an accusation may result in more damage to the interests of the child and to the child's primary relationships than the original act in question. The potential consequences to child, parents, family and society are massive, long-lasting, and may be either beneficial or devastating. At all stages of the process accurate and correct decisions are imperative.Mental health professionals and attorneys report seeing more accusations during marital conflict in the past few years although the increase may be no greater than the dramatic increase in sexual allegations in general over the past 10 to 15 years. Many professionals believe that false accusations of sexual abuse are also increasing. Although there is a disagreement as to the frequency and nature of false claims, many believe that false accusations have become a serious problem in vindictive, angry custody and visitation battles. Consequently, false accusations in divorce have received extensive media and professional attention (see for example,
This research explores the magnitude, sources, and consequences of differences among age strata in various dimensions of religious orientation and practice. A national sample of 4444 Lutheran church members, ages 15–65, completed a 740‐item survey. From these data six age groups were empirically formed; these exhibited significant differences on 43 of 52 major scales. Patterns of age strata differences supported a “selective gap” theory rather than a “great gap” interpretation of contrasts among age strata. The youth stratum, 19–23, was found to be most heterogeneous in their beliefs, attitudes, or life styles. Although some within‐stratum solidarity was evident, it generally was weak and overshadowed by lineage solidarity. Implications of combined aging and cohort effects conclude the discussion.
Police may engage in deceptive and coercive interrogations to obtain confessions. When a confession is later retracted, judges and juries must assess the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession, including the interrogation techniques used and the effects of these tactics on the particular defendant. A suspect who is vulnerable and confused or who is given false evidence by a coercive interrogator may produce a false confession. Expert testimony may be necessary to help jurors understand the circumstances that lead to nonvoluntary confessions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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