Psychosocial assessment of child sexual abuse: risk and protective factors, indicators, techniques, and assessment procedures

Abstract

Child sexual abuse continues to be one of the public health problems with high scientific interest. Psychologists working in psychosocial assessment should be aware of the risk and protection factors that increase or compensate for the probability of occurrence, as well as the physical, psychological, behavioural, sexual, emotional and social indicators that they cause. Likewise, it is important that professionals have specialised training and personal skills to establish a healthy climate with children. Different techniques and assessment procedures are used in the psychosocial assessment of child sexual abuse. Among them, the interview with the child stands out, through which trying to get a narrative that can be analyzed through rigorous protocols and techniques to assess the credibility of the testimony, such as Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA). Interviews are also conducted with the child’s primary caregivers, in order to obtain information that can reinforce and contrast the contribution of the child. On the other hand, and trying to prevent children having to go through legal proceedings, more and more are used pre-constituted tests, consisting of the declaration of the child before an expert in a place adapted to avoid emotional suffering.