Children's religious knowledge: implications for understanding satanic ritual abuse allegations

How Plausible are the Accounts of Child Victims of Sexual Abuse? A Study of Bizarre and Unusual Scripts Reported by Children

Child sexual abuse is a serious social problem. In reports of sexually abused children, victims' narratives often contain elements that suggest the abuse was recorded to create images for child pornography with sadistic, bizarre, or perverted details. The presence of unusual or bizarre elements in the accounts of abused children affects their credibility. The purpose of this paper is to assess the presence and prevalence of these elements in the reports of children with suspected sexual abuse and to examine their consistency with verified cases of child abuse. We conducted two studies. In Study 1, we developed a list of 16 categories of unusual and bizarre scripts reported by children in reports of sexual abuse. In Study 2, we validated the list by examining the presence of the identified scripts in the actual experiences of both individuals convicted of crimes related to child pornography and Italian police officers who were involved with child pornography as part of their official duties. Our findings suggest that children's accounts of sexual abuse should be considered credible even if they contain unusual or bizarre elements that also occur in child pornography and therefore may reflect events actually experienced rather than merely the child's fantasy or imagination.

Psychiatric Impact of Organized and Ritual Child Sexual Abuse: Cross-Sectional Findings from Individuals Who Report Being Victimized

Organized and ritual child sexual abuse (ORA) is often rooted in the child’s own family. Empirical evidence on possible associations between ORA and trauma-related symptoms in those who report this kind of extreme and prolonged violence is rare. The aim of our study was to explore socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the individuals reporting ORA experiences, and to investigate protective as well as promotive factors in the link between ORA and trauma-related symptom severity. Within the framework of a project of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany, we recruited 165 adults who identified themselves as ORA victims via abuse- and trauma-specific networks and mailing lists, and they completed an anonymous online survey. We used variance analyses to examine correlations between several variables in the ORA context and PTSD symptoms (PCL-5) as well as somatoform dissociation (SDQ-5). Results revealed a high psychic strain combined with an adverse health care situation in individuals who report experiences with ORA. Ideological strategies used by perpetrators as well as Dissociative Identity Disorders experienced by those affected are associated with more severe symptoms (η²_p = 0.11; η²_p = 0.15), while an exit out of the ORA structures is associated with milder symptoms (η²_p = 0.11). Efforts are needed to improve health care services for individuals who experience severe and complex psychiatric disorders due to ORA in their childhood.

A Case Concerning Children's False Memories of Abuse: Recommendations Regarding Expert Witness Work

Expert witnesses can play a major role in legal cases concerning the reliability of statements. Abuse cases frequently contain only the memories of eyewitnesses/victims without the presence of physical evidence. Here, it is of the utmost importance that expert witnesses use scientific evidence for their expert opinion. In this case report, a case is described in which 20 children reported being sexually abused by the same teachers at their elementary school. The investigative steps that were taken by the police and school authorities are reviewed, including how they probably affected memory. In order to provide a sound expert opinion regarding the reliability of these statements, three recommendations are proposed. To reduce the effect of confirmation bias and increase objectivity, it is argued that expert witnesses' reports should contain alternative scenarios, be checked by another expert, and focus on the origin and context of the first statement.

Maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid status during early pregnancy and children's risk of problem behavior at age 5-6 years

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively investigate the association between maternal long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) status and ratio during pregnancy and children's risk of problem behavior at 5 years of age.

STUDY DESIGN

Maternal LCPUFA status in plasma phospholipids during pregnancy (M = 13.3, SD = 3 weeks) was available for 4336 women. Children's behavior was rated by their mother (n = 2502) and teacher (n = 2061).

RESULTS

When using multivariate logistic regression analyses, we found that greater concentrations of omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.56-0.99; P = .05) decreased children's risk for emotional symptoms. Although lower eicosapentaenoic acid and a greater omega-6:omega-3 LCPUFA (ie, arachidonic acid/[docosahexaenoic acid + eicosapentaenoic acid]) tended to increase the risk for emotional symptoms and the risk of hyperactivity/inattention problems for the omega-6:omega-3 LCPUFA, the results were nonsignificant (P = .07). No evidence was found for mediation by preterm birth and being small for gestational age. The child's sex and infant feeding pattern did not modify the associations.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest long-term developmental programming influences of maternal LCPUFA status during pregnancy and stress the importance of an adequate and balanced supply of fatty acids in pregnant women for optimal fetal brain development and subsequent long-term behavioral outcomes.

Does God make it real? Children's belief in religious stories from the Judeo-Christian tradition

Four- to 6-year-old children (N = 131) heard religious or nonreligious stories and were questioned about their belief in the reality of the story characters and events. Children had low to moderate levels of belief in the characters and events. Children in the religious story condition had higher levels of belief in the reality of the characters and events than did children in the nonreligious condition; this relation strengthened with age. Children who used God as an explanation for the events showed higher levels of belief in the factuality of those events. Story familiarity and family religiosity also affected children's responses. The authors conclude that God's involvement in a story influences children's belief in the reality of the characters and events in that story.

From safe sanctuaries to strong communities: the role of communities of faith in child protection

In both popular and professional discourse, religious institutions are often perceived as sources of risk to children either as places where children are unusually vulnerable to abuse or as belief systems that sometimes result in mistreatment of children. However, religious institutions can be leading resources in the development of community-wide safety nets for children. In one such initiative (Strong Communities for Children, a large-scale initiative in the Upstate region of South Carolina), multiple indicators show that, even in an area dominated by theologically conservative churches, churches have been the sector most heavily engaged in protective action to strengthen families and thereby to prevent harm to children. Another faith-based project (Safe Families in Chicago) has shown the potential of similarly conceptualized support to ensure the safety of children in high-need situations.

CONTROVERSIES AND CHALLENGES OF RITUAL ABUSE

Children who have survived ritual abuse have endured physical, psychological, and sexual trauma; brain-washing; and mind-altering drugs. Their trust in adults has been eroded. Their coping strategies include anxiety, denial, self-hypnosis, dissociation, and self-mutilation. Although reports of ritual abuse initially seem hard to believe, nurses have a responsibility to detect clues to abuse, diagnose the child's responses, and recognize controversial issues regarding ritual abuse. To evaluate ritual abuse, nurses should avoid interview strategies that influence the child's recall (e.g., coaching, suggestions) and recognize that some reports are discounted as false memories because they emerge from fantasy, distortions, innocent deceptions, false beliefs, lies, or adult coaching. Nurses play an important role in case finding and treatment. They can evaluate clues to ritual abuse to reduce sources of error in assessment, build a child's trust, monitor their own attitudes toward ritual abuse, and intervene to increase self-esteem, empathy, boundary establishment, and coping. Nurses have an important opportunity to detect and begin healing the wounds caused by a child's abuse.

Jurors' reactions to satanic ritual abuse allegations

OBJECTIVE

Some of the most highly publicized child sexual abuse trials of this century have involved bizarre allegations of satanic ritual abuse, yet little is known about jurors' reactions to ritual abuse claims. We investigated how jurors' judgements of defendant guilt and witness credibility are affected by the presence or absence of satanic ritual abuse allegations.

METHOD

Two hundred forty-three mock jurors rendered judgments about a case involving childhood sexual abuse allegations made by either a 5-year-old child or a 30-year-old adult survivor. The presence or absence of satanic ritual abuse allegations was varied between subjects. Jurors' religiosity was measured.

RESULTS

Although jurors were significantly less likely to believe the satanic ritual allegations than other case details, they were as likely to vote guilty and to believe the victim in satanic as in nonsatanic cases. Victim age had no significant effect on mock jurors' judgments, but there were marked individual differences in decisions: When the allegations involved satanic ritual abuse, religious jurors were more likely than less religious jurors to believe the victim. Further, across all conditions, women made more pro-victim judgements than did men.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that highly bizarre details may be discounted by jurors (particularly less religious jurors), but that jurors may set aside their skepticism of satanic ritual details and make judgments about child sexual abuse cases based on their perceptions of the credibility of nonsatanic allegations of harm. Whether or not this is an accurate approach to decision-making in these cases remains an empirical question.