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Bette L. Bottoms, Ph.D.
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Edited Books
Bottoms, B. L., Goodman, G. S., & Najdowski, C. (Eds) (in preparation, under contract). Child victims, child offenders: Psychology and the legal system. New York: Guilford.
Vieth, V., Bottoms, B. L., & Perona, A. (Eds.) (2006). Ending child abuse: New techniques for investigation prosecution and prevention. Binghamton, NY: Haworth. [introduction] [table of contents]The editors provide an overview of the obstacles that prevent us from ending child abuse in the United States and briefly summarize the various articles in this volume that address these obstacles from multiple points of view.
Bottoms, B. L., Kovera, M. B., & McAuliff, B. (Eds.) (2002). Children, social science, and the law. New York: Cambridge University Press. [introduction] [table of contents](From the book) Broadens the field's conceptualization of the topic "children and the law," raising consciousness about a wide-ranging set of issues in great need of theoretical, empirical, and legislative attention. Some chapters address the newest research in subfields that have burgeoned over the last decade. Other chapters are in-depth considerations of novel issues that have received far less attention than they deserve. Many difficult questions are confronted. This volume can serve as a resource for any professional concerned with children and the law, including researchers, attorneys, judges, policy makers, legislators, and mental health, social service, and police professionals. The book can also be of interest to students and instructors in related disciplines.
Bottoms, B. L., & Goodman, G. S. (Eds.) (1996). International perspectives on child abuse and children's testimony: Psychological research and law. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. [introduction] [table of contents](From the cover) This volume focuses on the techniques and procedures used [in child abuse cases] to accommodate child witnesses in legal systems in countries around the world and on the research investigating the effectiveness and implications of those techniques. "International Perspectives on Child Abuse and Children's Testimony" not only provides support for all countries seeking to broaden their approach to child psychology and law but also promotes justice where child protection is virtually unknown. Special emphasis is given to techniques currently in use and under investigation in the US as well as the US applicability of techniques and procedures used in other countries. [This book] provides . . . findings and guidelines for researchers and practitioners in psychology, medicine, criminology/law, social policy, and social work as well as advanced students in these and related fields.
Goodman, G. S., & Bottoms, B. L. (Eds.) (1993). Child victims, child witnesses: Understanding and improving testimony. New York: Guilford. [table of contents](From the preface) Our intention in this book is to provide a set of stimulating, scholarly, up-to-date chapters on children's testimony--chapters that are research based but clinically relevant. . . . Our second goal in conceiving this book was to stimulate research and thinking about how to optimize children's performance as accurate witnesses. Although debates about children's abilities in this domain are likely to continue for years, researchers can make substantial contributions to society by exploring techniques that help children communicate their experiences accurately and completely. /// As readers will quickly see, most of the chapters of this book concern forensic issues related to child victims of sexual abuse. This is no accident. Although children are interviewed by authorities about other criminal acts, the surge in reporting and prosecution of child sexual abuse has brought children's testimony to the forefront of public and scientific concern.
Back to topIn Press
Stevenson, M., & Bottoms, B. L. (in press). Race shapes perceptions of juvenile offenders in criminal court. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. [pdf]
We investigated effects of defendant race, victim race, and juror gender on non-African American mock jurors’ perceptions of crimes committed by juvenile offenders. We predicted that mock jurors, particularly men, would render more pro-prosecution case judgments when the defendant was African American than White. We also predicted that defendants would be judged more harshly when the crime victim was portrayed as White than as African American. Although there were few main effects of defendant race or victim race on case judgments, defendant and victim race by juror gender interactions revealed that men (but not women) demonstrated the predicted bias against African American defendants and victims. Explanations and implications are discussed.
Wiley, T. R. A., & Bottoms, B. L. (in press). Effects of defendant sexual orientation on jurors’ perceptions of child sexual abuse. Law and Human Behavior. [pdf]
We examined mock jurors’ reactions to a sexual abuse case involving a male teacher and a 10-year-old child. Because gay men are sometimes stereotyped as child molesters, we portrayed defendant sexual orientation as either gay or straight and the victim as either a boy or girl. Jurors made more pro-prosecution decisions in cases involving a gay versus straight defendant, particularly when the victim was a boy. In boy-victim cases, jurors’ emotional feelings of moral outrage toward the defendant mediated these effects. On average, women jurors were more pro-prosecution than were men. Results have implications for understanding social perceptions of cross- and same-gender child sexual abuse and juror decision making in child sexual assault cases perpetrated by homosexual and heterosexual men.
Perry, S., York, C. S., Bottoms, B. L., Block, S., & Goodman, G. S. (in press). Child witnesses. Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences. [pdf]
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2007
Bottoms, B. L., Harris, L., Augusti, E. M., Goodman, G. S., Oudekerk, B. A., & Wiley, T., (2007). Child maltreatment. In B. Cutler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of law and psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [pdf]
Najdowski, C., & Bottoms, B. L. (2007). Jurors and children's testimony. In B. Cutler (Ed.), Encyclopedia of law and psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [pdf]
Bottoms, B. L., Perona, A. R., Sorenson, E., & Najdowski, C. J. (2007). Interviewing suspected victims of child maltreatment. In N. A. Jackson (Ed.), Encyclopedia of domestic violence (pp. 137-141), New York: Routledge. [pdf ]
Oudekerk, B., & Bottoms, B. L. (2007). Children. In D. S. Clark (Ed.), Encyclopedia of law and society: American and global perspectives. (pp. 173-178). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [pdf]
Bottoms, B. L., Golding, J. M., Stevenson, M. C., Wiley, T. R. A., & Yozwiak, J. A. (2007). A review of factors affecting jurors' decisions in child sexual abuse cases. In J. D. Read, D. Ross, M. Toglia, & R. Lindsay (Eds.), The psychology of eyewitness memory. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [pdf]
(From the chapter) Child maltreatment is one of the most significant problems society faces today (Myers, 2004; Vieth, 2006). Each year in the United States, there are around 3 million reported cases, of which approximately 1 million are substantiated. An indeterminably large number of cases go undisclosed and unreported (Jones & Finkelhor, 2001). Although child sexual abuse (CSA) constitutes only around 10% of all reported child maltreatment cases, it accounts for the majority of all sexual abuse cases handled by the American legal system. A juror's task is never easy, but it is particularly difficult when a trial focuses on alleged CSA. Given the inherent privacy and secrecy of this crime, CSA cases often lack physical evidence and corroborating witnesses, and so jurors must base their decisions largely on the testimony of alleged victims (Myers, 1998; Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 1987; Whitcomb, Shapiro, & Stellwagen, 1985). Research on perceptions of children's testimony finds that adults are often not very skilled at discerning children's actual accuracy (Goodman, Batterman-Faunce, Schaff, & Kenney, 2002; Goodman, Bottoms, Herscovici, & Shaver, 1989; Leippe & Romanczyk, 1989; but see Leippe, Manion, & Romanczyk, 1992). If children's actual accuracy is not the primary determinant of jurors' decisions, then it is of great importance to identify the factors that are influential. Social scientists have heeded this need over the past 15 years, producing a large and growing body of research on jurors' perceptions of CSA. In this chapter, we provide the first comprehensive review of that literature, summarizing the host of legal and extralegal factors that researchers have investigated, including juror, victim, defendant, and trial factors. We illustrate the value of this field of research for psychologists and for professionals within the legal system who seek to understand how jurors react to CSA victims and how they reach their verdicts in CSA cases. In most studies reviewed in this chapter, researchers employed a mock trial methodology. That is, researchers create a detailed, plausible case, often based on facts from actual cases. Such cases are presented to mock jurors, that is, research participants who play the role of jurors for the study. These mock jurors are usually jury-eligible undergraduate students receiving course credit for participation, but they are sometimes community members paid for their time. Cases are presented via summarized written case summaries or trial transcripts, elaborately produced videotaped simulated trial excerpts, or even videotaped testimony of actual CSA victims. Mock jurors are asked to render a verdict and to provide other judgments (e.g., ratings of their confidence in the verdict, perceived credibility of witnesses, perceived victim and defendant responsibility for the abuse, etc.). Researchers typically measure jurors' individual verdict preferences, but in some studies, jurors also deliberate before rendering verdicts. Ideally, but not always, studies are conducted with as much ecological validity as is practically feasible, including pattern jury instructions and realistic case stimuli built upon admissible evidence and legally appropriate charges.
Bottoms, B. L., Quas, J. A., & Davis, S. L. (2007). The influence of the interviewer-provided social support on children's suggestibility, memory, and disclosures. In M. E. Pipe, M. Lamb, Y. Orbach, & A. C. Cedarborg (Eds.), Child sexual abuse: Disclosure, delay, and denial. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [pdf]
(From the chapter) A significant number of actual child abuse victims never disclose childhood abuse experiences at all, or they disclose in ways that do not lead to formal investigation. It is critically important for researchers to identify factors that encourage both informal disclosures prior to legal investigations as well as formal disclosures during forensic interviews. In this chapter, we focus on one social psychological factor: social support. Our chapter is organized as follows: First, we provide a general overview of theory regarding social support. Second, we review literature addressing the effect of social support on children's memory and suggestibility. Finally, we discuss new directions in the study of social support in forensic contexts: (a) the study of individual difference characteristics that predispose certain children to be particularly sensitive to social support manipulations, and (b) explorations of how adult observers, such as potential jurors, view socially supportive versus nonsupportive interview techniques. Throughout, we highlight findings from new studies in our own laboratories.
Bottoms, B. L., Rudnicki, A. G., & Epstein, M. A. (2007). A retrospective study of factors affecting the disclosure of childhood sexual and physical abuse. In M. E. Pipe, M. Lamb, Y. Orbach, & A. C. Cedarborg (Eds.), Child sexual abuse: Disclosure, delay, and denial. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [pdf]
(From the chapter) Little is known about the factors associated with nondisclosure of childhood maltreatment. In this chapter, we address this issue by examining the prevalence and correlates of nondisclosure of sexual and physical childhood abuse in a sample of young adults. The data reported here were collected as a part of a larger retrospective study of abuse and other trauma described by Epstein and Bottoms (2002). Specifically, in an anonymous survey, we determined the form of abuse women had suffered and asked the victims if they had ever disclosed that abuse to others at any time up to the moment they completed our survey. The survey also included questions designed to measure characteristics of the abuse experience, including the frequency of the experience and the identity of and victim's emotional relationship with the perpetrator. Further, we measured victim characteristics, including the perceived emotional distress at the time of the experience and at present, age at time of the experience, tendency to self-label as a victim of abuse, and individual differences in attachment style and in the use of avoidant psychological coping styles. In this chapter we report the results of analyses that allow us to construct a profile of factors related to the tendency of victims to disclose or not disclose childhood maltreatment to others. Our study reveals that a significant number of victims never disclose abuse at all, or they disclose in ways that do not lead to formal investigation and do not bring an end to their abuse (nor prevent the abuse of other children).
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2006
Bottoms, B. L., & Quas, J. A. (2006). Recent Advances and New Challenges in Child Maltreatment Research, Practice, and Policy: Previewing the Issues. Journal of Social Issues, 62, 653-662. [pdf]
Few issues are of such grave importance to society and to the science and practice of psychology as child maltreatment. Our goal in editing this issue of JSI was to inform scientists across various sub-fields of psychology about the most current knowledge in the field of child maltreatment, broadly defined. The authors of the articles have gone further, pushing past the edge of current knowledge and setting aggressive agendas for future empirical and policy-relevant work. We believe that the result will be enriched future research, practice, policy, and law, and in turn, the increased well-being of children and their families.
Perona, A. R., Bottoms, B. L., & Sorenson, E. (2006). Research-based guidelines for child forensic interviews. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 12, 81-130. [pdf]
We present important considerations for conducting forensic interviews with children who are witnesses to or alleged victims of crime. Specifically, we (a) present the basic principles of the forensic interview and review some of the best structured forensic protocols currently available; (b) provide a detailed, practical blueprint for conducting a structured forensic interview and emphasize how the components of the interview are based upon empirical research; and (c) discuss special considerations for interviews with children of different age groups and children who have special needs or circumstances, and interviews involving various crime circumstances. We end with suggestions to assist legal and social service professionals in accessing the social science research literature that should inform forensic interview techniques.
Vieth, V. I., Bottoms, B. L., & Perona, A. R. (2006). Ending child abuse: Introducing a collection of new perspectives and practical techniques. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 12, 1-3. [coming soon]
The editors provide an overview of the obstacles that prevent us from ending child abuse in the United States and briefly summarize the various articles in this volume that address these obstacles from multiple points of view.
Wiley, T. R. A., Bottoms, B. L., Stevenson, M., & Oudekerk, B. (2006). A criança perante o sistema legal: dados da investigação psicológica. [Children in front of the legal system: Data from psychological research]. In A. C. Fonseca, M.R. Simões, M.C.T. Simões, & M.S. Pinho (Eds). Psicologia forense [Forensic psychology] (pp. 313-354). Coimbra, Portugal: Almedina. [English pdf]
(From the chapter) All over the world, children come into contact with legal systems every day. They enter legal systems as abuse victims in need of protection, as innocent parties in adult disagreements such as custody disputes, and as perpetrators of crimes. In turn, legal systems make many assumptions about children’s capacities to act in these domains (e.g., to provide testimony about their own maltreatment, to state custodial preference, or to participate maturely in legal proceedings against them). Such assumptions are frequently based upon personal and public opinion about children’s competence rather than upon actual facts, which psychological research can provide. In this chapter, we discuss how psychological research has contributed to understanding dilemmas that arise when children become involved in legal situations. First, we discuss children as victims of maltreatment. We describe various forms of child maltreatment, approaches to preventing child maltreatment, and current knowledge about child victims’ perceived and actual abilities to provide eyewitness testimony in maltreatment cases. Second, we consider children’s rights in general and in the context of family conflicts such as custody disputes and decisions about foster care placements and adoptions. Finally, we turn to juvenile offenders, discussing perceptions of and legal responses to adolescent perpetrators of crime.
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2004
Bottoms, B. L., Davis, S. L., & Epstein, M. A. (2004). Effects of Victim and Defendant Race on Jurors' Decisions in Child Sexual Abuse Cases. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 1-33. [pdf]
We examined the influence of victim and defendant race, victim age, juror gender, and juror prejudice on jurors' decisions in child sexual abuse cases. In Experiments 1 and 2, mock jurors judged Black and Hispanic child victims to be more responsible for their sexual abuse than White victims. In Experiment 2, jurors assigned more guilt to defendants in cases involving victims and perpetrators of the same race compared to different races. Experiment 3 illustrated that laypeople believe same-race cases to be more plausible generally. Experiment 2 revealed that high-prejudiced White mock jurors made no more racially biased judgments than low-prejudiced mock jurors. Finally, women were generally more pro-victim in their case judgments than were men, and older victims were disadvantaged compared to younger victims in terms of perceived credibility and responsibility, and their cases were less likely to draw convictions. Many child sexual abuse cases are investigated and tried in United States courts (Mannarino & Cohen, 1986; Tzeng & Schwarzin, 1990).
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2003
Bottoms, B. L., Nielsen, M., Murray, R., & Filipas, H. (2003). Religion-Related Child Physical Abuse: Characteristics and Psychological Outcomes. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 8, 87-114. [pdf]
Religious beliefs can foster, encourage, and justify child abuse, yet religious motivations for child abuse and neglect have been virtually ignored in social science research. In this paper, we compare victims' retrospective reports of religion-related child physical abuse to other reported cases of child physical abuse. We describe in statistical detail the nature and circumstances of the abuse, characteristics of victims and perpetrators, and the spiritual and psychological impact of the abuse. Results indicate that although the basic characteristics of religion-related physical abuse are similar to non-religion-related physical abuse, religion-related abuse has significantly more negative implications for its victims' long-term psychological well-being.
Bottoms, B. L., Nysse-Carris, K. L., Harris, T., & Tyda, K. (2003). Jurors' perceptions of adolescent sexual assault victims who have intellectual disabilities. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 205-227. [pdf]
Children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities are especially likely to be sexually abused. Even so, their claims are not likely to be heard in court, possibly because people assume that jurors will not believe them. The authors tested this assumption in a mock-trial study in which 160 men and women (aged 18-49 yrs) watched videotaped excerpts from an actual trial. As predicted, when the 16-yr-old sexual assault victim was portrayed as "mildly mentally retarded" instead of as "having average intelligence," jurors were more likely to vote guilty and had more confidence in the defendant's guilt; considered the victim to be more credible and the defendant to be less credible as witnesses; and rated the victim as more honest, less capable of fabricating the sexual abuse accusation, and less likely to have fabricated the sexual abuse accusation. Men and women were affected similarly by the disability manipulation, but women were generally more pro-prosecution in their case judgments and perceptions than were men. Finally, jurors who had more liberal views toward persons with disabilities were more likely than other jurors to make pro-prosecution judgments on measures of guilt. Implications for psychological theory and the law are discussed.
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2002
Bottoms, B. L., Goodman, G. S., Schwartz-Kenney, B. M., & Thomas, S. N. (2002). Understanding children's use of secrecy in the context of eyewitness reports. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 285-314. [pdf]
To investigate socioemotional influences on children's eyewitness accuracy, the authors examined children's reports for activities they were motivated to conceal. 48 3-6-yr-old children participated in a standardized play session with their mothers. Half of the children were told by an experimenter not to play with certain toys, but did so at the urging of their mothers, who told their children to keep the play activities secret. The remaining children were not restricted from playing with the toys, nor told by their mothers to keep the play activities secret. Later, all children were interviewed about the activities with free narrative and detailed questions. Half were given an interview that consisted of highly suggestive questions; half were given an interview consisting of specific, less suggestive questions. Results indicate that older children who were instructed to keep events secret withheld more information than did older children not told to keep events secret. Younger children's reports were not significantly affected by the secret manipulation. Implications for understanding the development of children's knowledge and use of secrecy, and, applications of the research to issues that arise when child witnesses give reports in legal contexts are discussed.
Bottoms, B. L., Reppucci, N. D., Tweed, J. A., & Nysse-Carris, K. L. (2002). Children, psychology, and law: Reflections on past and future contributions to science and policy. In J. R. P. Ogloff (Ed.), Taking psychology and law into the twenty-first century. Perspectives in law & psychology (Vol. 14, pp. 61-117). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. [pdf]
(From the chapter) This chapter identifies factors that led to the field's most notable past accomplishments and outlines future challenges that must be met for the field to continue producing scientifically sound research that will have significant impact on law, policy, and practice relating to children. This chapter also discusses the juvenile justice system and issues surrounding divorce, custody, and technology-assisted family planning.
Davis, S. L., & Bottoms, B. L. (2002). Effects of social support on children's eyewitness reports: A test of the underlying mechanism. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 185-215. [pdf]
Research on children's eyewitness testimony demonstrates that interviewer-provided social support given during a mock forensic interview helps children resist an interviewer's misleading suggestions about past events. We proposed and tested 1 potential mechanism underlying support effects: "Resistance Efficacy," or children's perceived self-efficacy for resisting an interviewer's suggestions. 81 6- and 7-yr-old children experienced a play event, then were interviewed about the event with misleading and specific questions. Consistent with prior research, children interviewed by a supportive person were more resistant to misleading suggestions than were those interviewed by a nonsupportive person. Although Resistance Efficacy did not mediate the effects of interviewer support in the full sample, additional analyses reveal that Resistance Efficacy may be a mediator for older, but not younger, children. Contrary to predictions, children's preexisting social support reserves were not related to children's interview accuracy nor to perceived Resistance Efficacy. Implications for psychological theory are discussed, as well as implications for understanding and improving children's eyewitness reports.
Davis, S. L., & Bottoms, B. L. (2002). The effects of social support on the accuracy of children's reports: Implications for the forensic interview. In M. L. Eisen, J. A. Quas & G. S. Goodman (Eds.), Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview. Personality and clinical psychology series. (pp. 437-457). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.[pdf]
(From the chapter) Discusses the role of interviewer demeanor in affecting children's memory and suggestibility. Specifically, the author review prior research that has revealed benefits of interviewers behaving in a supportive rather than nonsupportive manner during an interview, particularly an improvement in older children's ability to resist false suggestions. The authors then discuss one possible mechanism (perceived self-efficacy) that may underlie the observed benefits and present preliminary evidence from their laboratory confirming the mechanism's importance. The authors conclude that empirical evidence generally disputes speculation that "child-friendly" interviewing methods will lead children to fabricate details or entire abuse allegations to please interviewers. Rather, studies investigating peer-provided support have yielded mixed results, but none has revealed detrimental effects on children's accuracy.
Epstein, M. A., & Bottoms, B. L. (2002). Explaining the forgetting and recovery of abuse and trauma memories: Possible mechanisms. Child Maltreatment, 7, 210-225. [pdf]
Much attention has been focused on memories of abuse that are allegedly forgotten or repressed then recovered. By retrospectively surveying more than 1,400 college women (aged 18-60 yrs), the authors investigated (a) the frequency with which temporary forgetting is reported for child sexual abuse experiences as opposed to other childhood abuse and traumas and (b) exactly how victims characterize their forgetting experiences in terms of various competing cognitive mechanisms. Rates of forgetting were similar among victims who experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, and multiple types of traumas. Victims of other types of childhood traumas (e.g., car accidents) reported less forgetting than victims of childhood sexual abuse or multiple types of trauma. Most victims' characterizations of their forgetting experiences were not indicative of repression in the classic Freudian sense but instead suggested other more common mechanisms, such as directed forgetting and relabeling. The implications of these findings for psychological theory, clinical practice, and law are discussed.
Quas, J. A., Bottoms, B. L., Haegerich, T. M., & Nysse-Carris, K. L. (2002). Effects of victim, defendant and juror gender on decisions in child sexual assault cases. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1993-2021. [pdf]
We examined the combined influence of juror, victim, and defendant gender on jurors' decisions in child sexual abuse cases. 266 mock jurors (aged 18-42 yrs) read scenarios of an assault case involving a man or woman defendant accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy or girt. Jurors then rendered verdicts and rated the defendant's and victim's believability and responsibility for the abuse. Female jurors were generally more pro-victim in case judgments than were male jurors. Additionally, a woman perpetrator was evaluated more leniently than was a man perpetrator, especially by male jurors when the victim was a boy. Case judgments were unrelated to jurors' social conservatism, sexism, or attitudes toward homosexuality. Results have implications for understanding social perceptions of mixed- and same-gender abuse involving adolescent victims, and juror decision making in man- and woman-perpetrated child sexual assault cases.
Quas, J. A., Bottoms, B. L., & Nunez, N. (2002). Child maltreatment and delinquency: Framing issues of causation and consequence. Children's Services: Social Policy, Research, & Practice, 5, 245-248. [pdf]
It is now commonly believed that maltreatment in childhood can be a risk factor for later juvenile misconduct, delinquency,and violence. Yet, despite this general belief, much remains to be understood about the actual associations between maltreatment and delinquency and about the processes underlying these associations.An understanding of these processes is absolutely imperative as psychologists strive to develop successful interventions to ameliorate the potential negative consequences of maltreatment and prevent juvenile delinquency. As an important step toward reaching this understanding, we developed this special issue, which is sponsored by the Section on Child Maltreatment of the American Psychological Association's Division on Child, Youth, and Family Services. The articles in this special issue contain examples of recent research and theory linking the fields of child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency. The authors present new findings that push our field toward a broader conceptualization of causation and consequences of maltreatment and delinquency. We anticipate that this collection of articles will not only provide answers to old questions about the connections between maltreatment and delinquency but will also raise many new questions and prompt further research.
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2001
Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Rudy, L., Davis, S. L., & Schwartz-Kenney, B. M. (2001). Effects of past abuse experiences on children's eyewitness memory. Law and Human Behavior, 25, 269-298. [pdf]
Relations between child maltreatment and children's eyewitness memory were examined. A matched sample of abused and nonabused 3- to 10-year-old children (n = 70) participated in a play session with an unfamiliar adult and were interviewed about the interaction 2 weeks later. Consistent with results from previous research, older compared to younger childrens reports were more complete and accurate. Abused and nonabused children performed similarly with several exceptions: Nonabused children were more accurate in answering specific questions, made fewer errors in identifying the unfamiliar adult in a photo identification task, and (at least for younger boys) freely recalled more information. Most effects remained when group differences in IQ and behavioral symptomology were statistically controlled. Importantly, abused and nonabused children did not differ in their accuracy or suggestibility in response to questions that were relevant to abusive actions. Among abused children, however, those who suffered more severe sexual abuse made more omission errors to specific abuse-relevant questions. Contributions to psychological theory and legal implications for understanding children's eyewitness memory and testimony are discussed.
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2000
Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Rudy, L., Davis, S. L., & Schwartz-Kenney, B. M. (2001). Effects of past abuse experiences on children's eyewitness memory. Law and Human Behavior, 25, 269-298. [pdf]
Relations between child maltreatment and children's eyewitness memory were examined. A matched sample of abused and nonabused 3- to 10-year-old children (n=70) participated in a play session with an unfamiliar adult and were interviewed about the interaction 2 weeks later. Consistent with results from previous research, older compared to younger childrens reports were more complete and accurate. Abused and nonabused children performed similarly with several exceptions: Nonabused children were more accurate in answering specific questions, made fewer errors in identifying the unfamiliar adult in a photo identification task, and (at least for younger boys) freely recalled more information. Most effects remained when group differences in IQ and behavioral symptomology were statistically controlled. Importantly, abused and nonabused children did not differ in their accuracy or suggestibility in response to questions that were relevant to abusive actions. Among abused children, however, those who suffered more severe sexual abuse made more omission errors to specific abuse-relevant questions. Contributions to psychological theory and legal implications for understanding children's eyewitness memory and testimony are discussed.
Haegerich, T., & Bottoms, B. L. (2000). Empathy and jurors' decisions in patricide trials involving child sexual assault allegations. Law and Human Behavior, 24, 421-448. [pdf]
Investigated the impact of an empathy manipulation on juror decision making in a patricide case involving child sexual abuse allegations. In a mock-trial paradigm, 205 Ss (aged 18-42 yrs) considered a case in which a child defendant claimed the patricide was done in self-defense after years of abuse. It was hypothesized that induced empathy for the teenager, defendant gender, and juror gender would affect jurors' beliefs and decisions. Ss in an empathy-induction condition were asked to take the perspective of the defendant and to detail how they would be thinking and feeling if they were the defendant. Control condition Ss received no such instructions. Results indicated that Ss who were asked to take the defendant's perspective had more empathy for the defendant, found the defendant less guilty and less responsible for the murder, and were more likely to consider abuse to be a mitigating factor in the killing. Women were more likely to consider the defendant to be less responsible for the murder. Theoretical implications for understanding the social psychological construct of empathy as well as implications for understanding jurors' decisions in cases involving child sexual assault allegations are discussed. Opening and closing statements of the defense attorney are appended.
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1998
Epstein, M. A., & Bottoms, B. L. (1998). Memories of childhood sexual abuse: A survey of young adults. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 1217-1238. [pdf]
Explored the prevalence of, characteristics of, and factors associated with forgetting of childhood sexual abuse memories in a large non-clinical sample (N=1,712). Using an anonymous survey, Ss (aged 18-49 yrs) were asked about (1) the nature and severity of their childhood abuse; (2) the continuity of their abuse memories; and (3) their experiences with others suggesting to them that they might have been abused. A substantial minority of victims in our sample reported having temporarily forgotten their childhood sexual abuse. Forgetting was largely unassociated with victim or abuse characteristics. Compared to individuals who always remembered their abuse, however, individuals who temporarily forgot were more likely to report that someone had suggested to them that they might have experienced abuse. Those who received such suggestions were particularly likely to suspect that they may have experienced childhood sexual abuse that they do not yet remember.
Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Redlich, A., Shaver, P. R., & Diviak, K. R. (1998). Correlates of multiple forms of victimization in religion-related child abuse cases. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 2, 273-295. [pdf]
Notes that abuse perpetrated under the guise of religion is a devastating form of child maltreatment that often involves multiple types of victimization. In a large-scale survey of clinicians, the authors investigated the nature and emotional sequelae of religion-related child sexual abuse cases. It was predicted that there would be marked differences between cases involving multiple forms of abuse and those involving only sexual abuse. The results indicate that as the number of abuses increased, so did the severity of the abusive experience and the seriousness of psychological consequences for the victim. Thus, it is concluded that religion-related abuse is best understood in light of the specific types and combinations of abuses suffered by victims.
Qin, J., Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Repressed memories of ritualistic and religion-related child abuse. In S. J. Lynn & K. M. McConkey (Eds.), Truth in memory. (pp. 260-283). New York, NY: Guilford Press.[pdf]
(From the chapter) To provide a context for understanding allegations of ritualistic and religion-related abuse in repressed memory cases, we begin with a brief discussion of what we currently know about repressed memory and ritual abuse. We then address the topic of repressed memories of religion-related abuse. Next, we present the results of our initial survey, thereby providing a profile of cases involving allegations of repressed memories of ritual and religion-related abuse and detailing the nature of such cases. Finally, we describe the results of a second survey, one that concerned the belief systems and training of clinicians who deal with repressed memory cases. The findings from our surveys are relevant to understanding how such allegations emerge and the extent of evidence for them.
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Goodman, G. S., Quas, J. A., Bottoms, B. L., Qin, J. J., Shaver, P. R., Orcutt, H., & Shapiro, C. (1997). Children's religious knowledge: Implications for understanding allegations of satanic ritual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 1111-1130. [pdf]
Examined the extent of children's religious, especially satanic, knowledge and the influence of children's age, religious training, family, and media exposure on that knowledge. Using a structured interview, 48 3- to 16-yr-old children were questioned about their knowledge of: (a) religion and religious worship; (b) religion-related symbols and pictures; and (c) movies, music, and television shows with religious and horror themes. Although few children evinced direct knowledge of ritual abuse, many revealed general knowledge of satanism and satanic worship. With age, children's religious knowledge increased and became more sophisticated. Increased exposure to nonsatanic horror media was associated with more nonreligious knowledge that could be considered precursory to satanic knowledge, and increased exposure to satanic media was associated with more knowledge related to satanism. The results suggest that children do no generally possess sufficient knowledge of satanic ritual abuse to make up false allegations on their own.
Bottoms, B. L., & Davis, S. L. (1997). The creation of satanic ritual abuse. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 16, 112-132. [Reprinted in the Skeptical Intelligencer (1999), 3, pp. 28-41]. [pdf]
Fears about satanic ritual child abuse swept the nation in the 1980s and 1990s, but were probably largely unfounded. In this article, the authors explore sociocultural, individual, and therapy-related factors that together may be responsible for the creation of ritual abuse allegations. It is concluded that there are serious problems with embracing false ritual abuse claims, and a call is made for more responsible journalistic coverage of issues relating to child abuse, more research to identify factors that contribute to false allegations, and better therapeutic practices to aid people seeking psychological help.
Bottoms, B. L., Diviak, K. R., & Davis, S. L. (1997). Jurors' reactions to ritual abuse allegations. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21, 845-859. [pdf]
Investigated the effect of presence or absence of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) allegations on jurors' judgments of defendant guilt and witness credibility . 243 university students acting as mock jurors rendered judgments about a case involving childhood sexual abuse allegations made by either a 5-yr-old child or a 30-yr-old adult survivor. Presence or absence of SRA allegations was varied between Ss. Also, jurors' religiosity was measured. Although jurors were significantly less likely to believe the SRA 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 jurors' judgments, but there were marked individual differences: When allegations involved SRA, religious jurors were more likely than less religious jurors to believe the victim. Across all conditions, women made more pro-victim judgments than did men.
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1996
Bottoms, B. L., Shaver, P. R., & Goodman, G. S. (1996). An analysis of ritualistic and religion-related child abuse allegations. Law and Human Behavior, 20, 1-34. [pdf]
Conducted a stratified random sample survey of 2,722 members of the American Psychological Association working in clinical psychology, to determine the number and nature of cases involving alleged ritualistic and religion-related child abuse, whether reported directly by children or retrospectively by adults. Only a minority of Ss (n = 803) reported encountering ritual cases, but of those, the majority believe their clients' claims. Even so, the purported evidence for the allegations, especially in cases reported by adults claiming to have suffered the abuse during childhood, is questionable. Most clients who alleged ritual abuse have been diagnosed as having multiple personality disorder or posttraumatic cases. Issues addressed include the role psychotherapists play in uncovering or helping to co-create alleged abuse experiences and the need to clarify the definition of ritualistic abuse.
Carter, C. A., Bottoms, B. L., & Levine, M. (1996). Linguistic and socio-emotional influences on the accuracy of children's reports. Law and Human Behavior, 20, 335-358. [pdf]
Studied the impact of certain questioning tactics (e.g,. use of legalese and socioemotional intimidation) on the accuracy of children's testimony. 60 children (aged 5 yrs 4 mo to 7 yrs 7 mo) were interviewed about a standardized play event with free-recall cues and detailed questions that were specific or misleading. Linguistic complexity of questions (complex or simple) and socioemotional context of interview (supportive or intimidating) were varied between Ss. Children were significantly less accurate in reporting the event when questioned with complex, developmentally inappropriate questions rather than with simple questions, yet they rarely voiced their comprehension failures. In addition, children interviewed by a warm, supportive interviewer were more resistant to misleading questions about the event than were children interviewed in an intimidating manner.
Schwartz-Kenney, B. M., Bottoms, B. L., & Goodman, G. S. (1996). Techniques for improving children's person identification accuracy. Child Maltreatment, 1, 121-133. [pdf]
The accuracy of children's person identification on a recall task was compared to their accuracy on specially developed feature lineup tasks. In 2 experiments, children participated in a play session with a stranger and subsequently were interviewed about the stranger's appearance. Each child was first asked to recall appearance features (e.g., height, age, skin color) and then was asked to identify the features using target-present lineups. In Exp 1, 48 3-6 yr olds used feature lineups immediately after the play session. In Exp 2, 48 4-9 yr olds used modified feature lineups that included a "don't know" option after a 2-wk delay. Children's identification accuracy was significantly related to age and type of identification task. In Exp 1, use of the feature lineups increased children's correct responses but also increased their incorrect responses. Use of the modified feature lineups in Exp 2 led to increased accuracy with mixed results concerning commission errors. In both experiments, older children were more accurate than younger children.
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1995
Bottoms, B. L., Shaver, P. R., Goodman, G. S., & Qin, J. J. (1995). In the name of God: A profile of religion-related child abuse. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 85-111. [Reprinted in Hurley, J. (Ed.) (1999). Child abuse. San Diego: Greenhaven.] [pdf]
Describes cases of religion-related child abuse reported to 2,136 mental health professionals nationwide. In a follow-up survey, 797 of these clinicians provided detailed information about a total of 1,652 such cases they had encountered. These cases involved either the withholding of medical care for religious reasons, abuse related to attempts to rid a child of evil, or abuse perpetrated by persons with religious authority such as ministers and priests. It is argued that society should protect children"s rights and welfare whenever these are threatened by religious beliefs and practices.
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1994
Bottoms, B. L., & Goodman, G. S. (1994). Perceptions of children's credibility in sexual assault cases. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 702-732. [pdf]
Examined mock jurors' reactions to children's testimony about sexual abuse. In 3 experiments, 121 male and 175 female participant jurors (aged 16-48 yrs) were exposed to videotaped or written scenarios of child sexual abuse trials and then rated victim credibility and defendant guilt. Analyses indicated that (1) victim age was either inversely related or unrelated to perceptions of victim credibility, (2) women were more likely than men to find child victims credible, (3) corroborating testimony from a child victim increased the credibility of another child victim, and (4) exposure of participants to past criminal acts and other negative defendant character evidence heightened perceived victim credibility and defendant guilt.
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1993
Bottoms, B. L. (1993). Individual differences in perceptions of child sexual assault victims. In G. S. Goodman & B. L. Bottoms (Eds.), Child victims, child witnesses: Understanding and improving testimony. (pp. 229-261). New York, NY: Guilford Press. [pdf]
(From the chapter) review relevant literature and formulate specific hypotheses concerning pretrial biases and their relation to decisions in child sexual assault cases / rely on research on the perceived credibility of adult rape victims to direct much of my discussion /// begin with a review of research on jurors' perceptions of child sexual abuse victims and then illustrate parallel findings from literature on perceptions of adult rape victims / using the adult rape victim credibility literature as a guide, I then hypothesize specific determinants of individual differences, particularly gender differences, in reactions to child sexual abuse victims / argue that individual differences in evaluations of child sexual abuse victims are influenced by jurors' emphathy for child victims and attitudes toward issues relevant to child sexual abuse cases / present preliminary data supporting my hypotheses and discuss theoretical and practical implications of my work
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1991
Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Schwartz-Kenney, B., & Rudy, L. (1991). Children's testimony for a stressful event: Improving children's reports. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 1, 69-99. [pdf]
Age differences in children's ability to recount a stressful event were explored, as were several ways to improve children's reports. 23 children (aged 3 yrs 4 mo to 4 yrs 11 mo) and 47 children (aged 5 yrs 1 mo to 7 yrs 2 mo) were videotaped receiving inoculations at a medical clinic. It was predicted that multiple interviews would maintain memory and strengthen resistance to suggestion and that social support would ease intimidation and thus lessen children's suggestibility. Ss were interviewed about the clinic event either once after a 4-wk delay or twice, following 2- and 4-wk delays, and under either "reinforcing" or "nonreinforcing" conditions. Age differences in answers to specific and misleading questions and in performance on a photo identification task were prevalent. However, multiple interviews and reinforcement supported more accurate reports. Children's accuracy was unrelated to parental ratings of the stressfulness of the event.
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1990
Goodman, G. S., Rudy, L., Bottoms, B., & Aman, C. (1990). Children's memory and concerns: Ecological issues in the study of children's eyewitness testimony. In R. Fivush & J. Hudson (Eds.), Knowing and remembering in young children (pp. 249-284). New York: Cambridge. [pdf]
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1989
Goodman, G. S., Bottoms, B. L., Herscovici, B. B., & Shaver, P. R. (1989). Determinants of the child victim's perceived credibility. In S. J. Ceci, D. F. Ross, & M. P. Toglia (Eds.), Perspectives on the child witness (pp. 1-22). New York: Springer-Verlag. [pdf]
Last updated February 21, 2008
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