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Social and Behavioral Sciences
University of Texas at El Paso
Sexual abuse; disclosure; recantation; denial; CSAAS; Child Sexual Abuse Accomodation Syndrome; Summit
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How Do Children Tell: The Disclosure Process In Child Sexual Abuse, April Bradley, James M. Wood
How Do Children Tell: The Disclosure Process In Child Sexual Abuse, April Bradley, James M. Wood
James M. Wood
Children's disclosure of sexual abuse has been described as a quasi-developmental process that includes stages of denial, reluctance, disclosure, recantation, and reaffirmation (Sorenson & Snow, 1991, Summit, 1983). It has been reported that nearly 75% of sexual abuse victims initially deny abuse and that nearly 25% eventually recant their allegations (Sorenson & Snow, 1991). The present study examined disclosures in 234 sexual abuse cases validated by Protective Services in El Paso, Texas. Denial of abuse occurred in 6% of cases, and recantation in 4% of cases in which a child had already disclosed abuse. Four of the eight victims who …