Predictors of recantation after child sexual abuse disclosure among a Brazilian sample

Recantation after child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure refers to the complete denial of prior reports by a victim. In substantiated cases of CSA, recantation has negative effects on criminal proceedings and the protection of current and future victims. Past studies have identified the socio-family fa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child abuse & neglect 2021-05, Vol.115, p.105006-105006, Article 105006
Main Authors: Baía, Pedro Augusto Dias, Alberto, Isabel Maria Marques, Dell’Aglio, Débora Dalbosco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abused children
Caregivers
Child Abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child sexual abuse
Children
Court hearings & proceedings
Courts
Criminal procedures
Criminals
Disclosure
Offending
Pedophilia
Predictors
Recantation
Risk factors
Sex crimes
Victims
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Summary:Recantation after child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure refers to the complete denial of prior reports by a victim. In substantiated cases of CSA, recantation has negative effects on criminal proceedings and the protection of current and future victims. Past studies have identified the socio-family factors and CSA characteristics that are associated with recantation. However, the systematization of these risk factors remains limited. This study aimed to identify the predictors of recantation using a sample of criminal cases of CSA. The sample consisted of 108 criminal cases of CSA with (n = 46) and without recantation (n = 62). All the cases had been judged in a Brazilian court of law between 2010 and 2016. The final logistic regression model consisted of the following five significant predictors of recantation: a lack of support from the caregiver (odds ratio [OR] = 15.90, p < .001), disclosure to a single individual (OR = 13.75, p = .001), parental offending (OR = 12.44, p = .001), a long time interval (i.e., >one week) between disclosure and the reporting of the abuse to the authorities (OR = 8.64, p = .003), and a higher number of formal interviews (OR = 1.50, p = .052). The present findings underscore not only the effects of socio-family factors and the number of interviews on recantation but also the importance of examining the contexts within which previous disclosures of CSA have been made to the assessment of the risk of recantation.
ISSN:0145-2134
1873-7757
DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105006