What does this research mean for the field?

In child sexual abuse trials, parent conflict is used as a versatile rhetorical tool, with defense attorneys using it to suggest false allegations and prosecutors using it to contextualize delayed disclosure, predominantly through closed-ended questions. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how prosecutors and defense attorneys question children about parental conflict during trials involving child sexual abuse allegations against a parent.

September 5, 2026Child Maltreatment

Criminal Trial Attorney Questions About Parent Conflict when Children Testify Against a Parent in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

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Overview

Transcript analysis reveals divergent attorney questioning strategies regarding parent conflict in child sexual abuse trials, highlighting the need for developmentally sensitive practices.

Key Points

To examine how prosecutors and defense attorneys question children about parental conflict during trials involving child sexual abuse allegations against a parent.
Analyzed 21,863 question-answer pairs from 53 trial testimonies of youths aged 6 to 17 years (mean age = 13.46 years).
Assessed cases involving accused parents (49.1% stepfathers, 42.1% biological fathers, 8.8% other) across attorney roles, child age, question formats, and child elaboration rates.
Parent conflict arose across nearly all cases, with defense attorneys using it to dispute allegation credibility and prosecutors using it to contextualize delayed disclosure.
Attorneys questioned younger children more frequently regarding coaching, with closed-ended questions and unelaborative child responses dominating overall testimony.
Children elaborated more when answering questions about general parent conflict than when questioned about other conflict-related topics.

Cite This Study

A 2026 study studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd3726b95aff0620eaafb https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261484593

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September 5, 2026Child Maltreatment

Criminal Trial Attorney Questions About Parent Conflict when Children Testify Against a Parent in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Transcript analysis reveals divergent attorney questioning strategies regarding parent conflict in child sexual abuse trials, highlighting the need for developmentally sensitive practices.

Key Points

To examine how prosecutors and defense attorneys question children about parental conflict during trials involving child sexual abuse allegations against a parent.
Analyzed 21,863 question-answer pairs from 53 trial testimonies of youths aged 6 to 17 years (mean age = 13.46 years).
Assessed cases involving accused parents (49.1% stepfathers, 42.1% biological fathers, 8.8% other) across attorney roles, child age, question formats, and child elaboration rates.
Parent conflict arose across nearly all cases, with defense attorneys using it to dispute allegation credibility and prosecutors using it to contextualize delayed disclosure.
Attorneys questioned younger children more frequently regarding coaching, with closed-ended questions and unelaborative child responses dominating overall testimony.
Children elaborated more when answering questions about general parent conflict than when questioned about other conflict-related topics.

Cite This Study

A 2026 study studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9bd3726b95aff0620eaafb https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595261484593

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