The effect of emotional expression during the disclosure of sexual abuse on the perceived credibility of the CSA victims
The effect of emotional expression during the disclosure of sexual abuse on the perceived credibility of the CSA victims

Summary/Abstract: Theoretical background: Assessing the credibility of child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure by experts from many fields working with child abuse cases is complex due to several variables and may even be influenced by many biases. Research confirms that, among other factors, the emotions that a child expresses during the disclosure of sexual abuse are an important factor in assessing the credibility of a child victim (Wessel et al., 2015). Understanding the basic characteristics of sexual abuse disclosure can greatly facilitate the protection of children from further victimization and, at the same time, prevent the unjustified punishment of the falsely accused (Alcantara et al., 2019). The lack of perceived credibility of the child victim when disclosing the history of sexual abuse is a serious problem as it may affect a) the child's own adaptation, b) the legal consequences for the alleged perpetrator, and c) the likelihood of a potential child victim's willingness to testify repeatedly (Alcantara et al., 2019). The lay assumption that a real CSA victim should respond with grief has been refuted by the research of Sayfan et al. (2008), who state that children can use strategies to regulate negative emotions, such as hiding their emotional states from others in situations potentially related to abuse, and describe a specific emotional response to violence. Research aim: The aim of the quasi-experiment was to verify the results of selected research studies (Wessel et al., 2015), which focus on the perceived credibility of the child victim showing various emotional expressions. In particular, the aim was to find out how the following emotional expressions – sad, angry, neutral and positive – of the child during the disclosure of sexual abuse affect the perceived credibility of the child victim. The study was based on the following assumptions: 1) the highest level of credibility of the child victim would be related to the sad and neutral emotional expression and 2) the angry and positive emotional expression would be related to the lower perceived credibility of the child victim. Methods: The research sample consisted of 34 psychology students, aged 20 – 25 years (M = 21.83, SD = 1.55). The stimulus material in the form of video recordings of interviews with a potential CSA victim was created by the authors of this study, based on the recommendation of Cromer and Freyd (2007). The interview protocol providing the basis for the creation of video recordings was developed by Wessel et al. (2015). The script describes a section from a conversation between a potential female child victim (portrayed by an acting student) and an adult male investigator, during which a potential child victim discloses the fact that she has been the victim of her father's sexual abuse. There are four different emotional expressions in the script (sad, angry, neutral and positive). Video recordings of the interviews were exposed to probands and the level of the perceived credibility of the victim was verified. The victim's credibility was measured with the Child Sexual Assault Victim Credibility Scale (CSAVCS) (Voogt et al., 2017). The CSAVCS scale consists of 23 items dividedinto five domains, including accuracy (5 items), believability (4 items), competency (3 items), reliability (4 items) and truthfulness (7 items). All items are rated on a 6-point Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree to 6 – strongly agree). Data were processed using the statistical program SPSS – version 23 – and the statistical program Jamovi – version 1.2.16. Repeated measures ANOVA (within-subjects effects) together with Mauchly's sphericity test were used for data analysis. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA (within-subjects effects) together with Mauchly's sphericity test were used to verify the assumptions regarding the effect of different emotional expressions on the perceived credibility of the CSA victim. The significant result of Mauchly's sphericity test (p = 0.011) indicated that the assumption of sphericity was violated, therefore the Greenhouse-Geiser correction was applied. The result of the main statistical test repeated measures ANOVA (within-subjects effects) confirmed a statistically significant effect of the child's emotional expression on the perceived credibility of the child victim F (2.06, 45.39) = 20.0, p = 001, η 2 P = 0.476, η 2 G = 0.335. Similarly, the results of the Friedman test indicated that the perceived credibility rates of the child victim of sexual abuse corresponding to individual emotional expressions differed statistically significantly, depending on the emotional expression X 2 (2) = 38.0, p = 001. The difference in the perceived credibility of the potential CSA victim was confirmed if the disclosure was accompanied by a positive emotional expression compared to a neutral, sad or angry emotional expression. The results confirmed a significantly lower level of the perceived credibility of the CSA victim when the disclosure was accompanied by a positive emotional expression. Differences in the perceived credibility of a child during the disclosure of sexual abuse in the case of a neutral, sad, and angry emotional expression were not shown to be significant. Conclusion: The study examined the effect of four different emotional expressions conveyed by a child during the disclosure of sexual abuse on the perceived credibility of the CSA victim. For this purpose, a quasi-experiment was designed and implemented in order to verify how the different emotional expressions of the child (sad, positive, angry and neutral) affect the perceived credibility of the child victim. The sample of psychology students showed a statistically significant difference in the level of the perceived credibility of the child whose disclosure was accompanied by a positive emotional expression compared to the perceived credibility of the child during the disclosure accompanied by a sad, angry or neutral emotional expression. A significant difference in the perceived credibility of the child was not confirmed if the disclosure was accompanied by a sad and neutral emotional expression. Likewise, there was no statistically significant difference in the perceived credibility of the child during the abuse disclosure if accompanied by an angry, sad and neutral emotional expression. The results of the statistical analysis suggest that the perceived credibility of the child decreases significantly only if the disclosure is accompanied by a positive emotional expression. The findings of the study are important for understanding the impact of different emotional expressions of the child conveyed during the disclosure of the abuse on the perceived credibility of the child. After further validation, the results may be useful to experts who encounter the CSA victim, and may contribute to reduce possible bias in the interaction with the child victim.

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