Page 74 - Aug Sept 2016
P. 74
A Case for Specialized and Specific Intervention and Treatment Strategies with Abused Children
believable accounts of abuses that have child pressed into courtroom testimony
never occurred to them. Especially appears to be contraindicated as to future
when faced with an adult questioner treatment concerns. It would stand to
who is using repeated suggestive reason that due to the nature of forensic
methods and has a confirmatory bias, evidence and information gathering, either
children’s witness accuracy suffers. by a forensic mental health professional,
(Ceci, et al., 1995) child protection worker or a police
detective, all of whom are focused less on
Compounding simply bad questioning treatment than on the goal of successful
and investigative techniques, is the litigation, future treatment is a secondary
issue of how the symptoms of PTSD concern. It would seem that the very
interact with forensic questioning. approach of an investigator and the
The DSM groups symptoms into three nature of the questions would have the
basic categories of re-experience, clear potential to trigger re-experiencing,
psychobiological alterations, with avoidance, numbing, detachment, and
avoidance, numbing and detachment physical agitation. If unenlightened
comprising the last category. Wilson, questioners, or questioners not taking
Friedman, and Lindy (2001) contend into account the child’s developmental
that there may be a need to add three level are added to this mix, it would seem
more categories to fully articulate likely that triggering may occur with
PTSD, including problems in some reliability. This would appear to be
interpersonal relationships, disturbance a ripe subject for research and testing.
of ego structure, and alterations to Even a child who has experienced abuse
the victim’s psychological makeup. and is not diagnosed with PTSD may
Schuder and Lyons-Ruth (2004) find the courtroom experience daunting.
articulate the list further by describing a Wrightsman (2005) explains:
variety of attachment behaviors that can “It can be argued that for any victim of
be seen in traumatized infants. There sexual abuse or rape, whether an adult
is some evidence that there are child or child, the experience of facing your
specific behavioral signs of PTSD, alleged attacker in court is particularly
such as precocious development and stressful. The trauma is compounded if
behavioral regressions. (Nader, p284) opposing attorneys view the children as
especially susceptible to intimidation
In light of what has been demonstrated
thus far in the research on the effects of during cross examination, and judges
PTSD in abused children, a diagnosed remain oblivious to efforts to “break down
the child on the witness stand.” (p 285)
74
