Executive Editor

Managing Editor

Associate Editors

Washington Update

Journal Highlights

Prevention

Child Protective Services

Adult Survivors

Research

Media Reviews

Evaluation and Treahtment of Victims

Medicine

Offender Treatment

Law

Investigation

The APSAC Advisor Editorial Board, revised 9/1995

Contents By Topic, 1988-1995

Below is a list of substantive articles published in The APSAC Advisor from 1988 through 1995.

Volume numbers correspond to the following years:

These lists reflect an enormous amount of volunteer effort by Associate Editors and authors. Great thanks is due to everyone who has contributed to making The APSAC Advisor such a valuable source of information and opinion on such a wide range of t opics.

Evaluation And Treatment (Victims)

Physical abuse
"Strategies for changing parental behavior"

Sexual abuse
"Child custody issues in cases of suspected child sexual abuse"

Interviewing
"Criteria for judging the credibility of children's statements about their sexual abuse"

Neglect
"Defining and differentiating child neglect"

Memory
"The malleability of memory"

Misc.
"The dissociatively disordered child"

Child death review teams
"Child death review teams in action"

Adult Survivors
"Treatment for the long-term effects of child abuse"

Child Protective Services
"Keeping maltreated children at home: When is it safe?"

Cultural Issues
"Cultural diversity and child maltreatment"

Investigation
"Investigating macro cases"

Law

Evidence
"Preserving verbal evidence of child abuse: A critical responsibility"

Expert testimony
"Expert testimony in child abuse cases"

Prosecution: Skills
"Pretrial preparation: At the prosecutor's desk"

Legal issues
"Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children"

Medicine

Neglect
"Failure to thrive"

Physical abuse
"Identifying Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy and Shaken Baby Syndrome"

Sexual abuse
"Pitfalls in the diagnosis of STDs in children"

Evidence and other issues
"Principles and pitfalls in forensic evidence collection"

Offender Treatment
"Does rehabilitating child molesters pay?"

Prevention

Home visitation
"Infant home visitation: One step towards creation of caring communities"

Misc.
"Replicating child abuse prevention programs: A word of caution"

Research

Adult survivors
"Adult male victims of child sexual abuse"

Sexual abuse
"The Child Sexual Behavior Inventory: Preliminary normative data"

Interviewing
"Preliminary findings from the University of California, Davis, Child Memory Study: Development and testing of interview protocols for young children"

Methodology
"Measurement in child abuse research: A survey of researchers"

Research issues for clinicians
"Working with researchers: A guide for clinicians"

Prevalence
"Mistakes found in NIS-2 study statistics"

Opinion
"Things you should know about surviving in this field but were too burned out to ask"

Professional Issues
"Working with lawyers; Working with social workers"

Special Issues Of The APSAC Advisor

V3n2
Child Interviews: Current Research and Practice
"Developmental considerations in forensic interviewing"

V4n2
Promising Programs and Approaches in Child Maltreatment
"Treatment for the Long term effects of child abuse"

V4n4
Treatment Efforts in Child Abuse and Neglect
"The use of therapeutic day care"

V5n3
Child and Adult Memory
"How children remember and why they forget"

V7n4
Child Fatalities
"The history and status of child death review teams"

V8n3
"The backlash" in sociological perspective

--Plus Journal Highlights and reviews of The Osiris Complex, by Colin Ross; Video workshop on sexual abuse, by Elaine DuCharme; and Conducting child custody evaluations: A comprehensive guide, by Philip Michael Stahl.
Special issue on Risk Assessment--V.8, n.4--due out December, 1995

Excerpts from The APSAC Advisor: Selected Contents, 1989-1992

Practice

• Child custody issues in cases of suspected cbndd sexual abuse
  Linda Canfield Blick, MSW, LCSW: V.2,n.2
• Problems of belief in approaching accounts of ritual abuse
  Jean Goodwin, MD: V.3,n.1
• Developmental considerations for forensic interviewing
  Karen Saywitz, PhD: V.3,n.2
• Types of questions for children allegedly sexually abused
  Kathleen Coulborn Faller, PhD: V.3,n.2
• Are anatomical dolls too suggestive?
  Mark Everson, PhD & Barbara Boat, PhD: V.3,n.2
• Beyond vocabulary: Asking understandable questions
  Gina Richardson, MS: V.3,n.2
• Vicarious tramatization: Emotional costs of work with survivors
  L. McCann, PhD & L. Pearlman, PhD: V.3,n.4
• Prevention: Lessons from intergenerational research on maltreatment
  Martha Farrell Erickson, PhD and Byron Egeland, PhD: V.4,n.3
• Working with researchers: A guide for clinicians
  Kathleen Kcndall-Tackett, PhD: V.4,n.3
• Adolescent sex offenders: Assessment and treatment
  Barbara Bonner, PhD: V.4,n.4

Law

• Preserving verbal evidence of child abuse
  John E.B. Myers, JD: V.2,n.2
• Legal evidence of physical child abuse
  John E.B. Myers, JD: V.2,n,4
• Prosecutmg child abuse: Old problems and new challenges
  Patricia Toth, JD & JanetDinsmore, JD: V.2,n.4
• Coping with cross-examination
  John E.B. Myers JD: V.3,n.4
• Surviving in the courtroom: Ten rules of testifying as an expert witness
  by Paul Stern, JD: V.4,n.1
• Criminal inverstigation of suspicious burn injuries
  Phylip Peltier: V.5,n.1

Research

• Child Sexual Behavior Inventory: Preliminary normative data
  William Friedrich, PhD: V.2,n.1
• The impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children
  Runyan, Everson, Edelsohn, Hunter, & Coulter: V.2,n.2
• Does rehabilitating child molesters pay?
  R. Prentky, PhD & A. Burgess, DNSc, V.2,n.3
• Adult male victims of child sexual abuse
  R.J. Kelly, PhD, V. MacDonald MS & J. Waterman PhD: V.3,n.1
• Teachers and child abuse
  Kathleen Casey: V.3,n.4
• Parental stress response to abuse of children in day care
  Susan Kelley, RN, PhD: V.4,n.1
• Mistakes found in NIS-2 statistics
  by David Finkelhor, PhD: V.4,n.1
• Treatment for the long-term effects of child abuse
  John Briere, PhD: V.4,n.2
• Promising techniques in the treatment of child abuse
  William N. Friedrich, PhD: V.4,n.2

Medicine

• Diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases in children
  Margaret Hammerschlag, MD: V.2,n.3
• Principles and pitfalls in forensic evidence collection
  Allan R. DeJong, MD: V.2 n.4
• Guidelines for HIV testing of sexually abused children
  Martin Finkel, DO: V.3,n.1
• Some thoughts on child neglect
  Howard Dubowitz. MD: V.3,n.4
• Medical signs which may mimic sexual abuse
  Jan Bays, MD, FAAP: V.3,n.4
• Identifying Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
  Alex V. Levin, MD: V.4,n.1
• Shaken baby syndrome
  Alex V. Levin, MD: V.4,n.1
• Medical standards for child abuse photodocumentation
  Lawrence Ricci, MD: V.5,n.1

News: APSAC Advisor Benefits The Field
by Theresa Reid, MA
Executive Director

One of the benefits of membership in APSAC is the 24-page quarterly newsletter, The Advisor. Listed at left are a few of the dozens of excellent articles published through the second issue of 1992. Also published in each issue are

• Journal Highlights, an annotated selective bibliography of the quarter's research literature, listed by topic area.
• interdisciplinary book reviews.
• editorials, news, conference listings, and calls for papers that keep APSAC members abreast of the latest develop ments in the field.
• the POCLI News, a publication of the "Child Abuse and Neglect: People of Color Leadership Institute" (POCLI), a four-year, NCCAN-funded project.

Special issues of The Advisor have been published on Interviewing Children (V.3,n.2), Burnout Prevention (V.3,n.4), Promising Programs & Approaches in Child Maltreatment (V.4,n.2), Treatment Efforts in Child Abuse and Neglect, (V.4,n.4), and Child and Adult Memory: Implications for Law, Medicine, Psychol ogy, and Research (V.5,n.3). Below and inside are excerpts from articles published since Fall, 1989. I hope they help convince you that joining APSAC is one of the smartest professional choices you can make.

APSAC Files AMICUS Brief
APSAC has filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Idaho vs. Laura Lee Wright. In the case, the Idaho Supreme Court overturned a conviction for child sexual abuse because the doctor on whose testimony the conviction was largely b ased knew about the charges before his examination of the child, did not videotape his interview with the child, and, in the Court's opinion, used leading questions.

The issues before the U.S. Supreme Court, then, are: (1) Should professionals involved in suspected cases of child sexual abuse be kept ignorant of the charges in the case? (2) Should all interviews with children suspected of being abused be videotaped? a nd (3) Do leading questions destroy the reliability of hearsay evidence?. ..

John Myers, JD, Executive and Legal Editor of The Advisor, took the responsibility for writing and filing the "friend of the courts brief, designed to provide the Court with background information about current knowledge and practice so that it can make a better-informed decision. Gail Goodman, PhD, and Karen Saywitz, PhD, provided substantial input during the writing process.. .

With APSAC in the lead, the AMA, NOW, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and others have signed on to the brief....APSAC can be proud to have been in the forefront on an issue of such importance to the fi eld. Copies of the brief can be obtained by sending $3.00 to APSAC's offices.

(From V.3, n.2: Spring, 1990.)

Legal News: U.S. Supreme Court Decides Two Important Child Abuse Cases
by John E.B. Myers, JD

On June 27, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two important child abuse cases in ways professionals who work with abused children can feel good about....The first case, Idaho vs. Wright, spurredAPSAC to file an amicus brief with the Court.... Using lan guage that appears to derive from APSAC's brief, the Supreme Court struck down the Idaho Court's decision....The bottom line of the Wright decision is that professionals can continue to talk to children....

(From V.3, n.3: Fall, 1990.)

Law: Dolls In Court?
Anatomically detailed dolls are commonly used by professionals working with sexually abused children. With increasing frequency, courts are asked to consider the legal implications of the use of these dolls (White, 1988). From a legal standpoint, three us es of the dolls are noteworthy: 1) use of dolls to assist child witnesses to testify in court; 2) use as an aid to communication during investigative and/or therapeutic interviews; 3) use as a diagnostic or interpretive tool to help determine whether sexu al abuse occurred. These uses are discussed below....

Research does not support the argument sometimes raised by the defense that the anatomical dolls stimulate in nonabused children sexual fantasy play which is misinterpreted as evidence of sexual abuse (Yates & Terr, 1988a,b). Nor is there research support for the assertion that merely exposing children to anatomically detailed dolls increases suggestibility.

Undoubtedly, some interviewers use the dolls improperly, and some draw unwarranted conclusions from children's interaction with the dolls....Clearly, professionals who use anatomically detailed dolls should receive training in the use and limits of the do lls.

Equally clearly, however, when the dolls are used by properly trained and objective professionals, they are a useful aid to communication with children who have difficulty expressing themselves verbally. In the hands of properly trained interviewers. . ., the dolls raise few legal issues.

The third use of anatomical dolls ventures beyond an aid to communication during the interview, and contemplates use of the dolls as a diagnostic or interpretive tool. . with the professional drawing inferences about sexual abuse from a child's interactio n with the dolls. Research to date clearly supports the conclusion that the dolls are not a litmus test for child sexual abuse....That is, one can't conclude that a child was or was not sexually abused solely on the basis of the child's interaction, or la ck thereof, with the dolls....

In light of legitimate questions about the uses and limits of anatomical dolls, and the increasing tendency of defense counsel to attack professionals who interview sexually abused children, it is advisable to prepare a threefold response to criticism. Fi rst, be prepared to describe precisely how and why the dolls were used in particular cases. Second, be familiar with the research on the use of dolls so you can discuss their uses and limits, and can demonstrate that your use of the dolls falls within acc eptable practice. Third, be willing to concede the limits of the dolls' use, and readily acknowledge that the dolls are not a test for sexual abuse....

(From V.2, n.3: Fall, 1989.)

Research News: Mistakes Found In National Child Abuse Study Statistics: Westat Releases Revised Estimates For 1986
by David Finkelhor

Researchers at Westat, Inc., the firm that conducted the Second National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-2) in 1986, have discovered errors in their original calculations. As a result of these errors, the estimates for all categories of ab use and neglect in that study - the most scientifically derived estimates currently available - were too high. Many other figures in the official report released in 1988 (Study Findings, 1988) are now incorrect.

The error resulted from the inadvertent omission of a step in the complex weighting process in the NIS-2's methodology. The study derived estimates from a sample of 29 counties, all of which required complex weighting.Westat has now released a report corr ecting a few of the most important statistics from the 1986 study (Sedlak, 1990). However, this report has not been widely circulated, and there was very little publicity surrounding the corrections. Moreover, no plans are currently underway to correct ot her information in the original report.

As a result of the corrections, the increase in total child abuse and neglect between 1980(thedateoftheNIS-1)and 1986 is now estimated at 49% rather than at the originally reported 66%. The increase for sexual abuse is now estimated at 178 % rather than a t 221%.The new totals for various categories of abuse and neglect are shown in tables below....

The discovery of these mistakes in the original report adds yet one more obstacle to the general availability of trustworthy national child abuse statistics.....

(From V.4, n.l: Winter, 1991.)

Medicine: Pitfalls In The Diagnosis Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Children
by Margaret Hammerschlag, MD

Finding a sexually transmitted disease (STD) in a young child is troubling. In addition to the medical implications there are serious legal implications. Frequently, the presence or absence of an STD is used to prove or disprove that abuse occurred, or ca n prompt an investigation of possible abuse where it was not previously suspected. A false negative on a test for STD in a child may expose that child to ongoing sexual abuse. A false positive may expose innocent parents to unwarranted legal action.

Because of these legal repercussions, accurate diagnosis of STD in children is essential. But many physicians, lawyers, and law enforcement personnel are confused about the nature of the test that has been done to detect STD in children. Even if they are aware of the type of test that has been used, they may not know that the standards adequate for presumptive diagnosis of STD in adults is not adequate for the identification of these infections in children. This article will review appropriate procedures for detecting gonorrhea and chlamydia in children....

In short, when testing for N. gonorrhoeae in children, DO demand at least two of the three available tests: biochemical sugar, enzyme substrate, and serologic. DON'T rely on Gonozyme.

When testing for Chlamydia in children, DO use only chlamydial cultures to detect C. trachomatis. DON'T rely on Chlamydiazyme (an EIA) or MicroTrak, Pathfinder, or other direct FAs.

If all professionals in this field observe these guidelines, we'll be a lot closer to accurate diagnosis.

(From V.2, n.3: Fall, 1989.)

Practice: Beyond Vocabulary: Asking Understandable Questions
by Gina Richardson, MS

Eliciting accurate information from sexually abused children is one of the most difficult tasks facing investigators, therapists, attorneys, and others who work with these young victims. Interviewers are often puzzled by inconsistencies which crop up in c hildren's accounts of abusive incidents, and are worried that such discrepancies will jeopardize the children's credibility and thus the appropriate resolution of the case. Attempts to trace such inconsistencies to their source have led to a greater aware ness o how cognitive and psychological factors may influence children's statements. However, the ways in which the language of the interviewers' questions can contribute to children's inconsistencies have been largely ignored. Interviewers are quick to acknowledg the importance of adapting their language to that of the children. Interview guidelines and protocols typically include language advice, much of which is excellent. But the existing advice does not meet all of the real language needs of interviewers....

The purpose of this article is to show how more specific advice about language, covering a broader range of linguistic issues, can help interviewers phrase questions in ways that are less likely to induce "inconsistencies" in children's accounts of abusiv e incidents....The examples given are taken from actual interviews and courtroom testimony. All names and identifying information have been changed.

The following exchange is one example of how entence structure, rather than an inability to define words, resulted in a ten-year-old girl's improper response to a CPS worker's question:

(From V.3, n.2: Spring, 1990.)

Practice: Types Of Questions For Children Alleged To Have Been Sexually Abused
by Kathleen Faller, MSW, PhD

In the last five years, doubt about accusations of sexual abuse has resurged. One of the arguments skeptics have put forth is that evaluators induce false positives (accounts or affirmations of sexual abuse when none has occurred) by the way they question children (Wakefield and Underwager, 1988). ...Although existing research suggests that children are seldom led into making false accusations by inappropriate questioning techniques....the prudent professional should use questions that facilitate the chil d's disclosure, rather than questions that suggest particular responses (i.e., leading questions). In the discussion that follows, types of questions will be defined and guidelines for quesioning children will be suggested. The goal of this approach is bo th to lessen the vulnerability of evaluations to challenges because the questioning is leading, and to decrease the risk of false positives....

Five types of questions will be discussed: (1) general questions, (2) focused questions, (3) multiple choice questions, (4) questions requiring a yes or no answer, and (S) leading questions. These questions are listed in ascending order from least leading to most leading. They are also in descending order, from those more likely to those least likely to elicit responses from children in which we can have confidence (see chart) ....

(From V.3, n.2: Spring, 1990.)

Law: Surviving In The Courtroom: Ten Rules Of Testifying As An Expert Witness
by Paul Stern, JD

It scares both of us, but for different reasons. When the "expert witness" takes the stand in a criminal trial both the witness and the prosecutor generally panic a little. And for good reason.

For expert witnesses the fear is that they will say something wrong and all the lawyers will jump up and start carrying on, screaming and pointing shaking fingers in their general direction. As the prosecutor, the fear is that what the witness has told me in my office five minutes ago are words I may never hear again. Worse yet, that the witness will fall easy prey to the defense attorney's cross examination, sometimes even before the second question is asked. Fear no longer.

If both the witness and the prosecutor understand what is expected of them there is no reason to fear. First, learn how the criminal justice system works and learn how to testify without hoping the earth will open up and swallow you whole. Here then to he lp you through are Ten Rules of Testifying as an Expert Witness....

(From V.4, n.l: Winter, 1991.)

From the Special Advisor Issue Devoted to Child and Adult Memory
Overview: How Children Remember And Why They Forget
by Nancy Perry

"How a child is interviewed is likely to have a profound effect on the child's ability to recall and report information from memory.... Once an event is properly encoded and stored in memory, a child's memory of it is likely to be as enduring as an adult' s."

Practice: Can Therapyinduce False Allega Tions Of Sexual Abuse?
by Kathleen Coulborn Faller

"Research indicates that children have the ability to remember. Older children's memories are as good as those of adults.... When conducting therapy, clinicians should take care not to provide misleading information, should avoid assuming an authoritarian stance, and should not insist upon a particular interpretation of ambiguous experiences."

Practice: The Malleability Of Memory
by Elizabeth Loflus

"Even if children's memories were comparable to adults' on every level, children would still have memory problems .... We are all, adults and children alike, suggestible beings."

Practice: Enhancing Children's Memory With The Cognitive Interview
by Karen J. Saywitz

"The cognitive interview improves the quantity of useful information gained from children 7 to 12 years of age without creating heightened inaccuracy."

Research: Developing And Testing Inter Vie W Protocols For Young Children
by Margaret S. Steward

"As my colleagues and I studied the complexity of memory, and young children's difficulty sing language to report what they remembered, we came to believe that the most important issue with regard to young children's memory is not suggestibility or errors of commission, but rather underreporting of information children remember."

Research: Studying Delayed Memories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse
by John Briere

"In the absence of definitive data, clinicians are left with a limited number of possibilities: 1 ) If abuse isn't remembered it did not occur, or 2) Even though abuse isn't remembered, it might have occurred."

Research: Adult Memories Of Childhood Abuse: Preliminary Findings Froma Longitudinal Study
by Linda Meyer Williams

"These preliminary data are based on interviews with 100 women who reported sexual abuse in childhood in 1973, 1974, or 1975, and were treated in a city hospital emergency department for that abuse.... Seventeen years later, 38% of the women were amnestic for the abuse or chose not to report it to our interviewers."

Opinion: Misplaced Attention To Delayed Memory
by Roland C. Summit

"By now there are recognizable and organized camps in the battle and the backlash of the child sexual abuse war. It is dangerous to continue to polarize these camps, as if one is enlightened and the other perverse.... I am urging that each individual cons ider the personal and societal consequences of advancing opinion beyond authority, and feelings beyond facts."

-This And All Back Issues Of The Advisor Can Be Ordered From APSAC's National Office.

Upcoming Issues
V.8, n.4 of TheAPSACAdvisor will be a special issue on Risk Assessment. Special Issue editors are Deborah Daro, DSW; Diane DePanfilis, MSW; and Susan Wells, PhD.

Selected contents include:

Legal issues in the use of risk assessment protocols: Liability, court decision-making, and other issues

Assessing risk factors for child abuse in a medical setting

Caseworkers, computers, and risk assessment: A promising partnership

Translating risks to positive outcomes: Outcome-oriented case management from risk assessment information

Multi-cultural guidelines for risk assessment for child maltreatment

Several other articles on various aspects of risk assessment will make this issue an important resource for professionals in the field.

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Last Modified: February 28, 1997