Factorial Structure and Internal Consistency of an Expert Protocol for Identification of False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: A Preliminary Study

Over recent years there has been an increase in the number of complaints of abuse and especially on child sexual abuse. But this increasing in the light of our forensic experience and according to numerous studies on this topic, includes a significant percentage of false allegations of sexual abuse. Given the complexity for analyzinganalysing the credibility of the statements of child sexual abuse -especially those that are not confirmed or has have not been substantiated- the factor structure and internal consistency of a protocol expert assessment complementarily used in the forensic analysis of the credibility of the statements of child sexual abuse, was examined in the present study. The results show that the structure of this protocol yields two general factors that integrated, by one hand, criminological and social-familial variables, and, by the other hand, the child’s description and abuse variables. The implications of the instrument in future research are discussed