Anna Russell
Forensic Developmental Psychology
PSYC375
Exam #1
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Answer the following five questions below. Your answers should be
based on readings and classroom discussion. At the bottom of the
questions is the list of readings we’ve done so far this semester. You
should use and cite each of these readings at least one time in your set
of answers. Each question is worth 40 points out of a total of 200 (see
syllabus).
1. Sophie is 3-year-olds and her mother and father are
divorcing. Sophie’s mother has sole custody and her father
wants increased visitation. Sophie’s mother files a
protective order, claiming that the father has physically
abused both her and Sophie. As a result, the father gets
supervised visits. Sophie’s mother sees her “masturbating
excessively” and brings her child in for assessment. Sophie
also has been wetting her bed regularly after being potty
trained for over a year. After 2 forensic interviews, Sophie
made no disclosure of sexual abuse. However, after 15 more
interviews, in addition to therapy, she claims that her dad
licked her on her genitals. There are no recordings of these
interviews. Consider the context in which Sophie’s
allegations unfolded and discuss whether you would
consider her report of sexual abuse reliable or unreliable.
Discuss the factors that underlie your judgment and use
scientific evidence to support your claims.
Based on this information, I would consider her report of sexual
abuse unreliable for a variety of reasons. The behavioral aspect
(wetting the bed and masturbating) can appear troublesome for
some parents, however these are normal developmental behaviors,
and thus are not accurate indicators of sexual abuse (Poole & Wolfe,
2009). Since we do not have the recordings of the interviews, we
cannot be certain of the types of questions that were asked (i.e., if
they were suggestive or if the interviewer had confirmation bias).
Children are more likely to falsely disclose that they were sexually
abused with suggestive interviewing, and if there were 15+
interviews this is a likely possibility; the child did not spontaneously
disclose. The interviewer also could have been using peer pressure,
guilt, accusatory tones, and using forced choice questions, making
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Sophie so uncomfortable that she felt like she had to disclose
something. However, if the mother is also saying she has been
abused, this report could be considered a bit more reliable on her
behalf.
2. Max, who is 4-year-old, tells his teacher: “My grandpa puts
his peepee in my peepee.” When Max’s teacher asked him,
“How many times has your grandpa hurt you?” Max claimed
never. Nonetheless, Max’s teacher reported a suspicion of
child abuse to child protective services. During Max’s first
forensic interview, he claimed that his grandfather is a “bad
guy,” has touched Max’s face with his penis, and put a
crayon in his anus. In this interview, Max was given an
anatomically correct doll and props (including crayons) to
aid his recall. When Max’s grandfather is interviewed, he
denies abuse and attributed Max’s statement to the fact
that he has urinated in the same toilet as Max after Max has
urinated and not flushed. If Max’s grandfather’s story is
true, how and why might Max make claims of abuse? What
factors of a forensic interview in this context might create
such claims if abuse never happened? Use scientific
research to support your answer. [Show Less]