Criteria‐Based Content Analysis in Child Sexual Abuse Cases: A Cross‐Cultural Perspective

Abstract

Statement validity assessment (SVA) was created to evaluate children's accounts in alleged sexual abuse cases and it is the most popular instrument currently used to assess the veracity of their verbal declarations. The core of this method lies in the application of criteria‐based content analysis (CBCA) to the content of the provided account in an attempt to determine its veracity. Despite the popularity and importance of this instrument in legal settings in a variety of countries, there is little evidence that the cultural and ethnic background of the alleged child victims is taken into account. The current paper proposes a theoretical overview of the culturally sensitive aspects of cognition, memory, motivation and self‐identity as reflected in each of the two general categories of the CBCA criteria (i.e. cognitive and motivational). Our investigation revealed that several criteria are likely to be sensitive to cultural differences, therefore further direct empirical proof is needed to improve validation of SVA use in culturally diverse child sexual abuse cases. In the interim, we would encourage the use of culturally sensitive practices and policies among practitioners using CBCA.‘There is little evidence that the cultural and ethnic background of the alleged child victims is taken into account’Key Practitioner Messages The cultural or ethnic background of children influences their accounts; thus, it should be expected that certain CBCA criteria can be affected by these factors. Professionals using this method are recommended to take a more ‘culturally sensitive’ approach, which involves learning more about cultural differences and monitoring their own expectations and biases. More empirical research is needed in order to validate which CBCA criteria are suitable for use in a variety of cultures and cross culturally.