Consequences of Legal Involvement on Child Victims of Maltreatment

Children's Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice

Volumn , Issue , 2011, Pages 323-350

  Quas, Jodi A ^a   Sumaroka, Mariya ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

'face to face confrontation' for justice; Characteristics of child victims in legal cases; Child victims, in legal cases at risk even before involvement; Child witnesses, participating in criminal or dependency systems; Children, and experiences of participating in a legal case; Consequences of legal involvement on child victims of maltreatment; Consequences of legal involvement vulnerabilities in child witnesses; Maltreatment allegations filed, in a dependency court; Pre testimony distress, linked to adverse outcomes, months and years of trial; Repeated interviewing practices affecting quality of children's testimony

Indexed keywords

EID: 84874723478     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1002/9781119998495.ch16     Document Type: Chapter

References (107)

1. Allen, V. (2009). She called it the 'evil room' - the video suite where a little girl was grilled for 45 minutes by lawyers. Mail Online, 2 May 2009. Available at www.dailymail.co.uk.
2. Batterman-Faunce, J.M., & Goodman, G.S. (1993). Effects of context on the accuracy and suggestibility of children witnesses. In G.S. Goodman, & B.L. Bottoms (Eds), ChildVictims, Child Witnesses (pp. 301-330). New York: Guilford Press.
3. Berliner, L., & Conte, J. (1995). The effects of disclosure and intervention on sexually abused children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19, 371-384.
4. Bishop, S.J., Murphy, J.M., Hicks, R., Quinn, D., Lewis, P.J., Grace, M., & Jellinek, M. (2000). What progress has been made in meeting the needs of seriously maltreated children? The course of 200 cases through the Boston Juvenile Court. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 599-610.
5. Block, S., Oran, D., Oran, H., Baumrind, N., & Goodman, G.S. (2010). Abused and neglected children in court: Knowledge and attitudes. Child Abuse and Neglect, 34, 659-670.
6. Bottoms, B.L., & Goodman, G. (1994). Perceptions of children's credibility in sexual assault cases. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 702-732.
7. Brainerd, C.J., & Reyna, V.F. (2005). The Science of False Memory. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
8. Brennan, M., & Brennan, R.E. (1988). Strange Language: Child Victims Under Cross Examination (3rd edn). Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia: Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education..
9. Canada, Child and Family Services Act (1990).
10. Cashmore, J. (1992). The use of closed-circuit television for child witnesses in the ACT. Sydney, Australia: Australian Law Reform Committee.
11. Cauffman, E., & Steinberg, L. (2000). (Im)maturity of judgment in adolescence: Why adolescents may be less culpable than adults. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 18, 741-760.
12. Ceci, S.J., & Bruck, M. (1993). Suggestibility of the child witness: A historical review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 403-439.
13. Ceci, S.J., Huffman, M.L.C., Smith, E., & Loftus, E.F. (1994). Repeatedly thinking about a non-event: Source misattributions among preschoolers. Consciousness and Cognition, 3, 388-407.
14. Commonwealth v. Baran, 74 Mass. App. Ct. 256, 274 n. 25 (2009).
15. Compas, B.E., Connor-Smith, J.K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A.H., & Wadsworth, M.E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87-127.
16. Cooper, A., Wallin, A.R., Quas, J.A., & Lyon, T.D. (2010). Maltreated and nonmaltreated children's knowledge of the dependency court system. Child Maltreatment, 15, 255-260.
17. Council of Europe. (2007). Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse Report. Council of Europe Treaty Series No 201.
18. Crooks, C., Scott, K., Wolfe, D.A., Chiodo, D., & Killip, S. (2007). Understanding the link between childhood maltreatment and violent delinquency: What do schools have to add? Child Maltreatment, 12, 269-280.
19. Cross, T.P., DeVos, E., & Whitcomb, D. (1994). Prosecution of child sexual abuse: Which cases are accepted? Child Abuse and Neglect, 18, 663-677.
20. Cross T.P., Jones L.M., Walsh W.A., Simone M., & Kolko D. (2007). Child forensic interviewing in Children's Advocacy Centers: empirical data on a practice model. Child Abuse and Neglect, 10, 1031-1052.
21. Cross, T.P., Jones, L.J., Walsh, W., Simone, M., Kolko, D.J., Szczepanski, J., Lippert, T., Davison, K., Cryns, A., Sosnowski, P., Shadoin, A., & Magnuson, S. (2008). The multi-site evaluation of children's advocacy centers: Overview of the results and implications for practice. OJJDP Crimes Against Children Series Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
22. Danish Association of Parents for the Protection of Children. (2001). Report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved on 20 December 2010 from http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.27/Denmark-FBB.pdf.
23. Davies, G., & Noon, E. (1991) An Evaluation of the Live Link for Child Witnesses. Home Office report.
24. Edelstein, R.S., Goodman, G.S., Ghetti, S, Alexander, K.W., Quas, J.A., Redlich, A.D., Schaaf, J.M., & Cordon, I.M. (2002). Child witnesses' experiences postcourt: The effects of legal involvement. In H.L Westcott, G.M. Davies, & R.H.C. Bull (Eds), Children's Testimony in Context (pp. 261-278). NY: John Wiley & Sons.
25. Ellis, W.E., & Wolfe, D.A. (2009). Understanding the association between maltreatment history and adolescent risk behavior by examining popularity motivations and peer group control. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 1253-1263.
26. Eltringham, S., & Aldridge, J. (2000). The extent of children's knowledge of court as estimated by guardians ad litem. Child Abuse Review, 9, 275-286.
27. European Convention on Human Rights, Section 1, Article 6[3] (1953).
28. Faller, K.C. (2007). Interviewing Children About Sexual Abuse: Controversies and Best Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
29. Flin, R., Boon, J., Knox, A., & Bull, R. (1992). The effects of a five month delay on children's and adults' eyewitness memory. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 323-336.
30. Flin, R.H., Stevenson, Y., & Davies, G.M. (1989). Children's knowledge of court proceedings. British Journal of Psychology, 80, 285-297.
31. Friedrich, W.N. (1993). Sexual victimization and sexual behavior in children: A review of recent literature. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17, 59-66.
32. Ghetti, S., Alexander, K.W., Goodman, G.S. (2002). Legal involvement in child sexual abuse cases: Consequences and interventions. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. Special Issue: Children in the Forensic System, 25, 235-251.
33. Goodman, G.S., & Quas, J.A. (2008). Repeated interviews and children's memory: It's more than just how many. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 386-390.
34. Goodman, G.S., Quas, J.A., Bulkley, J., & Shapiro, C. (1999). Innovations for child witnesses: A national survey. Psychology, Public Policy, and the Law, 5, 255-281.
35. Goodman,G.S., Quas, J.A., & Ogle, C.M. (2010). Child maltreatment and memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 325-351.
36. Goodman, G.S., Sharma, A., Thomas, S.F, & Considine, M.G. (1995). Mother knows best: Effects of relationship status and interviewer bias on children's memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 60, 195-228.
37. Goodman, G.S., Taub, E.P., Jones, P.P., England, P., Port, L.K. & Prado, L. (1992). Testifying in criminal court: Emotional effects on child sexual assault victims. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57(5), Serial No. 229.
38. Goodman, G.S., Toby, A.E., Batterman-Faunce, J.M., Orcutt, H., Thomas, S., Shapiro, C., & Sashsenmaier, T. (1998). Face to face confrontation: Effects of closed circuit technology on children's eyewitness testimony and juror's decision. Law and Human Behavior, 22, 165-203.
39. Goodman-Brown, T.B., Edelstein, R.S., Goodman, G.S., Jones, D.P.H., & Gordon, D.S. (2003). Why children tell: A model of children's disclosure of sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27, 525-540.
40. Gray, E. (1993). Unequal Justice: The Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse. New York, NY: Free Press.
41. Grisso, T. (1997). The competence ofadolescents as trial defendants. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3, 3-32.
42. Hall, S., & Sales, B. (2008). Courtroom Modifications for Child Witnesses. Washington, DC: APA.
43. Hébert, M., Tremblay, C., Parent, N., Daignault, I. V., & Piche, C. (2006). Correlates of behavioral outcomes in sexually abused children. Journal of Family Violence, 21, 287-299.
44. Henry, J. (1997). System intervention trauma to child sexual abuse victims following disclosure. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(4), 499-513.
45. Hunter, J.A., Goodwin, D.W., & Wilson, R.J. (1992). Attributions of blame in child sexual abuse victims: An analysis of age and gender influences. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 1, 75-89.
46. International Children's Bureau. (2005). The Rights of Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime: A Compilation of Selected Provisions Drawn from International and Regional Instruments (2nd edn). Montreal, Canada: International Children's Bureau..
47. International Association of Prosecutors. (2001). Annotated Model Guidelines for the Effective Prosecution of Children, 2001. Retrieved 20 December 2010 from http://www.icclr.law.ubc.ca/Site%20Map/Programs/Model_Guidelines.htm.
48. Jones, L.M., Walsh, W.A., & Cross, T.P. (2007). Do Children's Advocacy Centers improve families' experiences of child sexual abuse investigations? Child Abuse and Neglect, 31, 1069-1085.
49. Johnson, K., & Wagner, D. (2005). Evaluation of Michigan's foster care case management system. Research on Social Work Practice, 15, 372-380.
50. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 128 S. Ct. 2641 (2008).
51. Keeney, K.S., Amacher, E., & Kastanakis, J.A. (1992). The court prep group: A vital part of the court process. In H. Dent, & R. Flin (Eds), Children as Witnesses (pp. 201-209). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
52. Khoury, A. (2006). Seen and heard: Involving children in dependency court. Child Law Practice, 25, 145-155.
53. La Rooy, D., Lamb, M.E., & Pipe, M.E. (2009). Repeated interviewing: A critical evaluation of the risks and potential benefits. In K. Kuehnle, & M. Connell (Eds), The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony (pp. 327-362). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
54. Liang, B., Williams, L., & Siegel, J. (2006). Relational outcomes of childhood sexual trauma in female survivors: A longitudinal study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1-16.
55. Lillie & Reed v. Newcastle City Council & Ors. (1994). EWHC 252 (QB).
56. Lyon, T.D. (2002). Applying suggestibility research to the real world: The case of repeated questions. Law and Contemporary Problems, 65, 97-126.
57. Malloy, L.C., & Lyon, T.D. (2006). Caregiver support and child sexual abuse: Why does it matter? Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 15, 97-103.
58. Malloy, L.C., Lyon, T.D., & Quas, J.A. (2007). Filial dependency and recantations of child sexual abuse allegations. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 162-170.
59. Mannarino, A.P., Cohen, J.A., & Berman, S.R. (1994). Children's Attribution and Perception Scale: A new measure of sexual abuse-related factors. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23, 204-211.
60. Maryland v. Craig (1990). 497 US 836, 110 S. Ct. 3157.
61. McAuliff, B. D., Maurice, K. A., Neal, E. S., & Diaz, A. (2008). 'She should have been more upset...': Expectancy violation theory and jurors' perceptions of child victims. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society, Jacksonville, FL.
62. Menard, K.S., & Ruback, R.B. (2003). Prevalence and processing of child sexual abuse: A multi-data-set analysis of urban and rural counties. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 385-402.
63. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. (2009). Policy summary: Young witness support. Retrieved 20 December 2010 from http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/policyandpublicaffairs/policysummaries/YoungWitnessSupport_wdf61908.pdf.
64. New Zealand, Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act (1989).
65. Oates, R.K., & Tong, L. (1987). Sexual abuse of children: An area with room for professional reforms. Medical Journal of Australia, 147, 544-548.
66. Perry, N., McAuliffe, B.D., Tam, P., Claycomb, L., Dostal, C., & Flanagan, C. (1995). When lawyers question children. Is justice served? Law and Human Behavior, 19, 609-629.
67. Peterson-Badali, M., Abramovitch, R., & Duda, J. (1997). Young children's legal knowledge and reasoning ability. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 39, 145-170.
68. Plotnikoff, J., & Woolfson, R. (2004). In Their Own Words: The Experiences of 50 Young Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings. London: NSPCC.
69. Plotnikoff, J., & Woolfson, R. (2009). Measuring Up? Evaluating Implementation of Government Commitments to Young Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings. NSPCC: London.
70. Putnam, F.W. (2003). Ten-year research update review: Child sexual abuse. Journal ofthe American Academy ofChild and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(3), 269-278.
71. Quas, J.A., Cooper, A., & Wandrey, L. (2009). Child victims in dependency court. In B. L. Bottoms, C.J. Najdowski, & G.S. Goodman (Eds), Children as Victims, Witnesses, and Offenders: Psychological Science and the Law (pp. 128-149), New York: Guilford Press.
72. Quas, J.A., Goodman, G.S., Ghetti, S., Alexander, K.W., Edelstein, R., Redlich, A.D., Cordon, I.M., & Jones, D.P.H. (2005). Childhood sexual assault victims: Long-term outcomes after testifying in criminal court. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 70, 1-145.
73. Quas, J.A., & Lench, H. (2007). Arousal at encoding, arousal at retrieval, interviewer support, and children's memory for a mild stressor. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 289-305.
74. Quas, J.A., Malloy, L., Melinder, A.M., D'Mello, M., Goodman, G.S., & Schaaf, J. (2007). Developmental differences in the effects of repeated interviews and interviewer bias on young children's event memory and false reports. Developmental Psychology, 43, 823-837.
75. Quas, J.A., & McAuliff, B.D. (2009). Accommodating child witnesses in the criminal justice system: implications for death penalty cases. In R.F. Schopp, R.L. Wiener, B.H. Bornstein, & S.L. Willborn (Eds), Mental Disorder and Criminal Law: Responsibility, Punishment and Competence (pp. 79-102). New York: Springer.
76. Quas, J.A., & Schaaf, J.M. (2002). Children's memories of personal experiences following repeated questioning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 83, 304-338.
77. Quas, J.A., Thompson, W.C., & Clarke-Stewart, A. (2005). Do jurors know what isn't so about child witnesses? Law and Human Behavior, 29, 425-456.
78. Quas, J.A., Wallin, A.R., Horwitz, B., Davis, E., & Lyon, T.D. (2009). Maltreated children's understanding of and emotional reactions to dependency court involvement. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 27, 97-117.
79. Runyan, D., Everson, M., Edelson, G., Hunter, W., & Coulter, M. (1988). Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children. Journal of Pediatrics, 113, 647-653.
80. Santilla, P., Korkman, J., & Sandnabba, N. (2004). Effects of interview phase, repeated interviewing, presence of a support person, and anatomically detailed dolls on child sexual abuse interviews. Psychology, Crime, and Law, 10, 21-35.
81. Sas, L., Austin, G., Wolfe, D., & Hurley, P. (1991). Reducing the system induced trauma for child sexual abuse victims through court preparation, assessment, and follow-up. Ottawa: NationalWelfare Grant Division, Health and Welfare Canada.
82. Sas, L.D., Hurley, P., Hatch, A., Malla, S., & Dick, T. (1993). Three years after the verdict: a longitudinal study of the social and psychological adjustment of child witnesses referred to the child witness project. Ottawa, Canada: Health and Welfare Canada.
83. Saywitz, K.J., Goodman, G.S., & Lyon, T.D. (2002). Interviewing children in and out of court: Current research and practice implications. In J.E.B. Myers, & L. Berliner (Eds), The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment (2nd edn, pp. 349-377). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
84. Saywitz, K., Jaenicke, C., & Camparo, L. (1990). Children's knowledge of legal terminology. Law and Human Behavior, 14, 523-535.
85. Saywitz, K., & Nathanson, R. (1993). Children's testimony and perceived stress in and out of the courtroom. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17(5), 613-622.
86. Saywitz, K.J., Nathanson, R., Snyder, L., & Lamphear, V. (1993). Preparing Children for the Investigative and Judicial Process: Improving Communication, Memory and Emotional Resiliency (Report No. 90CA1179). Washington DC: National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect..
87. Saywitz, K.J., & Snyder, L. (1993). Improving children's testimony with preparation. In G. Goodman, & B. Bottoms (Eds), Child Victims, Child Witnesses: Understanding and Improving Children's Testimony (pp. 117-146). New York: Guilford Press.
88. Scotland Criminal Procedure Act (1995).
89. Smith, S.E., & Elstein, G.S. (1993). The Prosecution of Child Sexual and Physical Abuse Cases. Washington, DC: American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education.
90. Stroud, D.D., Martens, S.L., & Barker, J. (2000). Criminal investigation of child sexual abuse: A comparison of cases referred to the prosecutor to those not referred. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 689-700.
91. Stronger v. Brook, 539 US 607, 649 (2003).
92. Tedesco, J.F., & Schnell, S.V. (1987). Children's reactions to sex abuse investigation and litigation. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11, 267-272.
93. Thompson, R.A. (1994). Social support and the prevention of child maltreatment. In G.B. Melton, & F. Barry (Eds), Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect (pp. 40-130). New York: Guilford.
94. Tyler, T.R. (1990). Why People Obey the Law. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
95. Tyler, T.R., & Lind, E.A. (2001). Procedural justice. In J. Sanders, & V.L. Hamilton (Eds), Handbook of Justice Research in Law (pp. 65-92). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.
96. United Kingdom, Children Act (1989).
97. United Kingdom, Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (1999).
98. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990).
99. United Nations Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime (2009).
100. US Child Abuse and Treatment Act (1974).
101. US Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. (2009). Child Maltreatment 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2010 from www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm07/index.htm.
102. Walker, A.G. (1993). Questioning young children in court: A linguistic case study. Law and Human Behavior, 17, 59-81.
103. Walsh, W.A., Lippert, T., Cross, T.P., Maurice, D.M., & Davison, K. (2008). How long to prosecute child sexual abuse for a community using a children's advocacy center and two comparison communities? Child Maltreatment, 13, 3-13.
104. Whitcomb, D. (1991). Improving the investigation and prosecution of child sexual-abuse cases: Research findings, questions, and implications for public policy. In D.D. Knudsen, & J.L. Miller (Eds), Abused and Battered: Social and Legal Responses to Family Violence (pp. 181-190). New York: A. de Gruyter.
105. Whitcomb, D., Runyan, D., De Vos, E., Hunter, W., Cross, T., Everson, M., Peeler, N., Porter, C., Toth, P., & Cropper, C. (1991). The Child Victim as a Witness. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
106. White, M., Albers, E., & Bitonti, C. (1996). Factors in length of foster care: Worker activities and parent-child visitation. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 23, 75-84.
107. Zajac, R., Gross, J., & Hayne, H. (2003). Asked and answered: Questioning children in the courtroom. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 10, 199-209.