Adolescents tend to be neglected in research examining child sexual abuse (CSA) interviews, yet are often said to be particularly reluctant. This study examined reluctance among 119 10- to 17-year-old females questioned about suspected CSA ( = 25,942 responses), utilizing a scheme identifying previously overlooked types of reluctance in commercially sexually exploited (CSE) youth. In contrast to the CSE youth in a prior study, in which 26% of responses were reluctant, only 8% of CSA victims' responses expressed reluctance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychol Public Policy Law
August 2021
Little is known about the relation between law enforcement interviewing behaviors and commercially sexually exploited children's (CSEC) reluctance. This study examined the relation between officers' use of maximization, (references to) expertise, minimization, and support and adolescent CSEC victims' reluctance in a small sample of police interviews ( = 2,416 question-answer pairs across ten interviews). Twenty-six percent of officers' utterances contained at least one interviewing tactic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research has largely overlooked expressions of reluctance in commercially sexually exploited adolescent ("CSEA") victims. This is problematic because gaining information from known victims is of the utmost importance in order to better serve the needs of current and potential future victims.
Objective: The current study proposes a novel conceptualization of reluctance based on CSEA victims' transcripts from police interviews and courtroom examinations.