Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children

Desmond K. Runyan · Mark D. Everson · Gail Ann Edelsohn · Wanda M. Hunter · Martha L. Coulter

150 citations0/0 files storedThe Journal of Pediatrics

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Child Abuse and Trauma Legal and Social Justice Studies Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Examining the psychologic risks of court and related interventions on child sexual abuse victims. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study with follow-up at 5 months. SETTING: Eleven county social service departments in central North Carolina. SUBJECTS: 100 sexually abused children, ages 6 to 17 years, were recruited from consecutive referrals by social service departments; 75 completed the study. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Using a structured psychiatric inventory, the Child Assessment Schedule, we found a high degree of distress at referral. The level of distress fell by 26% over the next 5 months (p less than 0.001). The 33 children not involved in criminal proceedings improved 30%, in comparison with a 17% improvement in the 22 children waiting for the proceedings (p = 0.042). The 12 children who had testified in juvenile court improved 42% on the Anxiety subscale, in comparison with a 17% improvement in all other subjects (p less than 0.01). With mathematical modeling that controlled for the factors of vaginal or anal penetration, the relationship to the perpetrator, an estimate of verbal IQ, duration of abuse, and whether counseling was received, it was estimated that children waiting for court proceedings at the follow-up examination were only one twelfth as likely to have improved by one standard deviation on the Depression subscale (p less than 0.05). A second model revealed that children who testified in juvenile court were 20.11 times more likely to improve by one standard deviation on the CAS Anxiety subscale (p less than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Testimony in juvenile court may be beneficial for the child, whereas protracted criminal proceedings may have an adverse effect on the mental health of the victim.

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References

1985The traumatic impact of child sexual abuse: A conceptualization.1981Behavioral Problems and Competencies Reported by Parents of Normal and Disturbed Children Aged Four Through Sixteen 1981Handbook of Clinical Intervention in Child Sexual Abuse 1983Handbook of clinical intervention in child sexual abuse 1986Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Young Children 1982The development of a child assessment interview for research and clinical use 1982Proximate effects of sexual abuse in childhood: a report on 28 children 1985Mental health in Dutch children: (II) the prevalence of psychiatric disorder and relationship between measures

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2000Criminal investigation of child sexual abuse: a comparison of cases referred to the prosecutor to those not referred 1996Abuse-Related Attributions and Perceptions, General Attributions, and Locus of Control in Sexually Abused Girls 1997Five Years After Child Sexual Abuse: Persisting Dysfunction and Problems of Prediction 1994Prosecution of child sexual abuse: Which cases are accepted?2000Child Sexual Abuse I: Psychopathology

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