Legal involvement in child sexual abuse cases Consequences and interventions Simona Ghetti a , Kristen Weede Alexander b , Gail S. Goodman a, * a Department of Psychology, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-8686 USA b Department of Human Development, University of California, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616-8686 USA 1. Introduction A report of child sexual abuse activates a chain of events. The child may be removed from home by police or social services and placed in foster care or a group home. The ensuing investigation may include a medical examination of the child to obtain physical evidence of abuse and interviews of the victim by police, doctors, social workers, and attorneys. If sufficient evidence is gathered, the case may be tried in court where the child enters into a formal and unfamiliar legal environment (e.g., Saywitz, Jaenicke, & Camparo, 1990). Involvement in a trial may include taking the stand one or more times. Thus, the psychological consequences of sexual abuse extend beyond the effects of the abuse itself to the direct or indirect effects of related legal processes. It is evident that disclosure of sexual abuse potentially leads to a variety of stressful experiences for children. In the present paper, we first discuss potential stressors, which include separation from the family (Runyan, 1993), the formality and unfamiliarity of the legal environment and procedures (e.g., Saywitz & Nathanson, 1993), multiple interviewing about the event (e.g., Westcott, 1995), and testifying (e.g., Goodman et al., 1992). Further, shame and stigma related to disclosing and publicly speaking about the abuse negatively affect children involved in the legal system (see Spencer & Flin, 1990 for review). We will also describe measures that have been developed to reduce the stress associated with legal involvement. Finally, we draw conclusions about the current state of our understanding about the emotional effects of legal involvement and legal interventions, and we offer directions for future research. 0160-2527/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII:S0160-2527(02)00104-8 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-530-752-6981; fax: +1-530-752-0442. E-mail address: ggoodman@ucdavis.edu (G.S. Goodman). International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 25 (2002) 235 – 251