Credibility of assertions of historical childhood sexual abuse: do adults dismiss such assertions?

Hassan, Ashif (2024) Credibility of assertions of historical childhood sexual abuse: do adults dismiss such assertions? Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (1MB)

Abstract

The study aimed to examine how adult testimonies about childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are perceived, focusing on the impact of the victim's age at the time of abuse, the cultural and gender background of the evaluator, and how these factors, along with preexisting attitudes towards CSA, influence credibility judgments cross-culturally. This study was conducted with a sample of adults from Bangladesh (N = 94) and Canada (N = 249); and investigated the perceived credibility of historical CSA scenarios by exploring these three different factors. The age at the time of abuse (age: 3, 6, & 9) was manipulated to determine its effect on the perceived credibility of the scenarios. The study also investigated attitudes towards myths about CSA in the context of cultural and gender differences of the evaluator using two novel scales. It was found that Canadians find historical CSA more credible and have a more pro-victim attitude regarding CSA myths than Bangladeshis. The study also showed that people found a historical CSA allegation less plausible when the alleged abuse happened at age- 3 compared to age- 6 and age- 9. Moreover, female evaluators found historical CSA more credible and had a more pro-victim attitude than male evaluators. Finally, people’s pre-existing attitudes towards CSA myths were related to their perceptions of the credibility of abuse, regardless of culture and gender differences. This study is the first to quantitatively compare credibility ratings and attitudes in CSA cases across Bangladeshi and Canadian cultures, revealing age-related credibility perceptions and the influence of CSA myths on credibility judgments, irrespective of cultural and gender differences. The findings of this study can potentially improve the criminal justice system in both Bangladesh and Canada regarding historical CSA.

Actions (login required)

View Item