Children as Victims, Witnesses, and Offenders

Bette L. Bottoms, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Dean Emerita of the Honors Collegeat the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has published numerous articles and books about child abuse, children's eyewitness testimony, and jurors' perceptions of child victims and offenders. A past president of the American Psychological Association's Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice, she is a recipient of the American Psychology–Law Society Early Career Award and eight awards for teaching excellence.Cynthia J. Najdowski, BA, is a doctoral student in social and personality psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research focuses on understanding how childhood sexual abuse and rape victims cope with their experiences. She also studies perceptions of juvenile offenders. She has received several competitive grants and awards in recognition of her work.Gail S. Goodman, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Public Policy Research at the University of California, Davis. She has received numerous awards and federal grants for research, and her studies have been cited in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Her psycholegal research focuses on child maltreatment, trauma and memory, forensic interviewing, and juvenile delinquency.

"This excellent resource provides a wealth of information. Reviewing critical themes such as methods of disclosure, trauma, memory suggestibility, and the evolution of forensic interviewing, the contributors promote a more holistic approach for child victims and offenders. There are few texts that address child offenders in as comprehensive and thoughtful a fashion. Including international perspectives and visions for best practices in the future, this book is a key addition to the toolkits of psychological, medical, and legal professionals serving children involved in any aspect of the justice process."--Sharon W. Cooper, MD, FAAP, Consultant, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine"Few topics in psychology and law have attracted as much attention as the challenging conflicts posed when children encounter the legal system as victims or offenders. This volume is both comprehensive and nuanced, assembling experts in the field to describe what we know and what we have yet to learn."--Shari Seidman Diamond, JD, PhD, Howard J. Trienens Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University School of Law; Research Professor, American Bar Foundation"Bottoms, Najdowski, and Goodman have called on world-class colleagues to put together this definitive volume. Each state-of-the-science chapter addresses the application of research findings in legal contexts. This book will be indispensable for mental health experts in child maltreatment as well as lawyers involved in child advocacy."--Kathleen Coulborn Faller, PhD, ACSW, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families and Director, Family Assessment Clinic, School of Social Work, University of Michigan"The editors have assembled an internationally renowned group of experts to craft an authoritative volume that integrates the best behavioral science with important case law decisions. The resulting chapters do not disappoint. Readers will find the essentials they need regarding child victims and offenders, linked closely to key legal decisions and packed with valuable recommendations. Faculty teaching upper-level undergraduate seminars and graduate courses across disciplines that deal with crimes against children will want to consider adopting this book. Child protection professionals, many attorneys, and students planning to work in this arena will find it essential reading."--Gerald P. Koocher, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Dean, School of Health Sciences, Simmons College"The fields of law and psychology have been moving toward a restructuring of justice for children--as victims and as offenders--that makes use of new, scientifically informed perspectives on child development. This volume is a definitive milestone in the progress of that movement. Above all, it is authoritative. Leading researchers have written succinct reviews of their respective areas of expertise, in a style that will be understandable to practitioners and policymakers. Offering updates on questions that have been asked for decades, the chapters also provide new information on issues addressed nowhere else. This book promises to both inform and organize our thinking about how law can best respond to children who are harmed or who harm others."--Thomas Grisso, PhD, Department of Psychiatry (Emeritus), University of Massachusetts Medical School"Although much has been written about child abuse victims and juvenile offenders in the last two decades, these literatures have not previously been presented together in such an authoritative, comprehensive, and accessible way. This book is both a resource for established scholars and a well-written introduction for students in applied developmental, forensic, and clinical psychology, as well as social work and juvenile and family law."--Michael E. Lamb, PhD, Head, Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK-

• 1. Children as Victims, Witnesses, and Offenders: An Introduction through Legal Cases, Jillian N. Ducker, Jessica M. Salerno, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, and Gail S. GoodmanI. Children as Victims and Witnesses2. Abuse Disclosure: What Adults Can Tell, Thomas D. Lyon3. Trauma and Memory, Andrea Follmer Greenhoot and Sarah L. Bunnell4. Children’s Memory in Forensic Contexts: Suggestibility, False Memory, and Individual Differences, Iris Blandón-Gitlin and Kathy Pezdek5. Child Sexual Abuse Investigations: Lessons Learned from the McMartin and Other Daycare Cases, James M. Wood, Debbie Nathan, M. Teresa Nezworski, and Elizabeth Uhl6. Contemporary Child Forensic Interviewing: Evolving Consensus and Innovation Over 25 Years, Karen J. Saywitz and Lorinda B. Camparo7. Child Victims in Dependency Court, Jodi A. Quas, Alexia Cooper, and Lindsay Wandrey8. Child Witnesses in Criminal Court, Natalie R. Troxel, Christin M. Ogle, Ingrid M. Cordon, Michael J. Lawler, and Gail S. Goodman9. Expert Psychological Testimony in Child Sexual Abuse Trials, John E. B. Myers10. Jurors’ Perceptions of Children’s Eyewitness Testimony, Jonathan M. Golding, Emily E. Dunlap, and Emily C. Hodell11. An International Perspective on Child Witnesses, Kay Bussey12. Child Victim Research Comes of Age: Implications for Social Scientists, Practitioners, and the Law, Bradley D. McAuliffII. Children as Offenders13. How Victims Become Offenders, Cathy Spatz Widom and Helen W. Wilson14. Police Interrogation and False Confessions: The Inherent Risk of Youth, Allison D. Redlich and Saul M. Kassin15. Challenging Juvenile Transfer: Faulty Assumptions and Misguided Policies, N. Dickon Reppucci, Jaime L. Michel, and Jessica O. Kostelnik16. Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Juvenile Justice, Patrick H. Tolan and Jennifer Anne Titus17. Girl Offenders: Special Issues, James Garbarino, Kathryn Levene, Margaret Walsh, and Sacha M. Coupet18. Understanding Adults’ Perceptions of Juvenile Offenders, Margaret C. Stevenson, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Bette L. Bottoms, and Tamara M. Haegerich19. An International Perspective on Juvenile Justice Issues, John Petrila20. Different Visions of Juvenile Justice, Christopher Slobogin