The Prevalence of Unfounded Suspicions of Child Sexual Abuse in Finland

dc.contributor.authorKorkman, J., Antfolk, J., Fagerlund, M., & Santtila, P.
dc.date.accessioned2020-12-29T16:11:06Z
dc.date.available2020-12-29T16:11:06Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractScholars and investigators of child sexual abuse (CSA) have long pointed out that some CSA allegations may be unfounded. However, no population-based estimates of the occurrence of false allegations have previously been undertaken. The present study presents the first population-based prevalence estimates of unfounded allegations of CSA. We analyzed two data collections: first, a representative sample of adolescents (N = 11,364; aged 12 or 15 years), and second, a representative sample of adults (N = 2484, mean age 34 years). Experiences of CSA were reported by 2.4% of adolescents and 8.9% of adults. Unfounded suspicions of CSA (e.g. someone falsely believing CSA had taken place) were reported by 1.5% of adolescents and 1.9% of adults. Of the unfounded suspicions, 14.5 and 9.1%, for adolescents and adults, respectively, had been reported to the authorities. The prevalence of CSA seems to decrease while more and more allegations reach the authorities. Whereas a low threshold for reporting suspicions of CSA to authorities is in the interest of protecting as many actual CSA victims as possible, more research is needed to separate unfounded versus founded allegations to minimize the risk of erroneous conclusions in investigations of CSA.en_US
dc.identifier.citationKorkman, J., Antfolk, J., Fagerlund, M., & Santtila, P. (2019). The prevalence of unfounded suspicions of child sexual abuse in Finland. Nordic psychology, 71(1), 39-50.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://psyarxiv.com/fbshw/download?format=pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/4964
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherNordic psychologyen_US
dc.subjectchild sexual abuseen_US
dc.subjectinvestigationen_US
dc.subjectfalse allegationsen_US
dc.subjectresearchen_US
dc.subjectInternational Resourcesen_US
dc.subjectFinlanden_US
dc.titleThe Prevalence of Unfounded Suspicions of Child Sexual Abuse in Finlanden_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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