Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 1 of 1
Sexual abuse allegations by children with neuropsychiatric disorders
- Authors:
- LINDBLAD Frank, LAINPELTO Katrin
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 20(2), March 2011, pp.182-195.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Sexually inappropriate behaviour is more common in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and also in children who have experienced sexual abuse. This creates challenges during forensic investigation when a child with a neuropsychiatric disorder has allegedly been sexually abused. The aim of this study was to investigate how Swedish criminal courts argue when a child with neuropsychiatric disorder has been allegedly abused. All Swedish court cases from 2004 and 2006 concerning alleged child sexual abuse were identified through criminal registers. Fourteen cases (13 girls and 1 boy) concerned a child with a neuropsychiatric disorder. The diagnostic groups were 10 cases of mental retardation, 3 cases of autism, and 1 case of ADHD. Psychiatric experts were engaged in only 2 of these cases. When experts were involved, the courts focused on credibility issues. When the courts applied neuropsychiatric arguments in the absence of an expert, they used developmental arguments. In some cases, the courts entered into interpretations of symptoms and developmental standpoints without discussion of the neuropsychiatric issues. The results illustrate the complexity and pitfalls of drawing conclusions about associations between symptoms and personality characteristics on one side and accuracy of sexual abuse allegations on the other. They highlight the importance of a high quality system for providing courts with adequate neuropsychiatric knowledge.