FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN ASSESSING ADULT LITIGANTS COMPLAINTS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE

Based on limited research, clinical and forensic experience and observ ations, factors hypothesized to be potentially useful in forensic eval uation of claims of decades-delayed discovery of childhood sexual abus e are delineated. Factors considered include: (1) alleged victim facto rs, (2) memory factors, (3) therapist/examiner factors, (4) external i nfluences on the abuse account, (5) evidential patterns. Differences a mong a limited sample of cases seen by the author are described. Prese nt knowledge does not provide a basis for reliable determination of wh ether a specific recollection is true or false, based only upon the cl aimant's account. At this time, there is no empirically validated meth od for discriminating valid from invalid cases. Experts testifying for either side must exercise caution and restraint as it may be prematur e and even unethical in many cases to propound opinions about the vali dity or invalidity of the memories.