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Lyon TD, Williams S, Stolzenberg SN. Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias. Behav Sci Law. 2020;38(6):630-647doi: 10.1002/bsl.2490.
Lyon, T. D., Williams, S., & Stolzenberg, S. N. (2020). Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias. Behavioral sciences & the law, 38(6), 630-647. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2490
Lyon, Thomas D, et al. "Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias." Behavioral sciences & the law vol. 38,6 (2020): 630-647. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2490
Lyon TD, Williams S, Stolzenberg SN. Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias. Behav Sci Law. 2020 Dec;38(6):630-647. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2490. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33210350; PMCID: PMC7909365.
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Behav Sci Law. 2020 Dec;38(6):630-647. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2490. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Understanding expert testimony on child sexual abuse denial after New Jersey v. J.L.G.: Ground truth, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias.

Behavioral sciences & the law

Thomas D Lyon, Shanna Williams, Stacia N Stolzenberg

Affiliations

  1. University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  2. McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
  3. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

PMID: 33210350 PMCID: PMC7909365 DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2490

Abstract

The New Jersey Supreme Court held in New Jersey v. J.L.G. (2018) that experts can no longer explain to juries why sexually abused children might deny abuse. The court was influenced by expert testimony that "methodologically superior" studies find lower rates of denial. Examining the studies in detail, we argue that the expert testimony was flawed due to three problems with using child disclosure studies to estimate the likelihood that abused children are reluctant to disclose abuse: the ground truth problem, disclosure suspicion bias, and disclosure substantiation bias. Research identifying groups of children whose abuse can be proven without reliance on disclosure reveals that denial of sexual abuse is common among abused children.

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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