Child Sexual Abuse Interview : Use of Anatomically Explicit Dolls

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 3 of 8)

Anatomical dolls are the most widely employed of the media. Although most appropriate for use with children aged 2 to 6, anatomical dolls may be used with children of any age. In this section, the challenges to the dolls, their advantages, and techniques for their use will be discussed.

Challenges to Anatomically Explicit Dolls

The dolls have been challenged, generally by defense attorneys and their expert witnesses, as being "leading," that is, triggering allegations of sexual abuse because they are "suggestive." However, research indicates that they do not elicit sexual responses from children who do not have prior sexual knowledge, and in the few studies that compare the responses of children believed to be sexually abused to those of children not so found, the former are significantly more likely to engage in sexualized behavior with the dolls than the latter. However, many children believed to have been sexually abused do not engage in sexualized behavior with the dolls.

Nevertheless, a definitive determination of sexual abuse is made not merely on the basis of what the child does with the dolls. Children may learn about sexual activity in ways other than being abused, for example, from consensual involvement with peers, from viewing erotica or pornography, or from sex education classes. Therefore, if the child spontaneously demonstrates sexual activity with the dolls, the interviewer needs to ask questions to clarify the source of the child's knowledge.

That is, if a child puts the penis of the adult male doll into the vagina of the female child doll, such behavior is certainly suggestive but not conclusive. In response to such a demonstration, the interviewer might ask, "Who does that?" in order to find out whether or not the child has been sexually abused.

In addition, anatomically explicit dolls have been criticized because they have not been subjected to the validation process employed with psychological tests. As noted above, there have been studies employing the dolls with general populations of children and a small number of studies that compare the responses of children assumed to have been sexually abused to those assumed to have not been abused. However, the dolls are not meant to be a psychological test, any more than Barbie™ dolls are. Rather, they are a medium through which interviewers may communicate with children, just as language is.

Advantages of Anatomically Explicit Dolls

The dolls are not a magical instrument that makes disclosure of sexual abuse automatic. In addition, the small number of studies comparing anatomical dolls to other media, for example, regular dolls, suggest thus far no particular superiority of the dolls over other media. However, the advantages noted by clinicians include:

For young children, the dolls may be a more familiar medium than speech, and often one in which they are more accomplished, because children generally interact with toys, including dolls, before they have a lot of language.

The dolls' explicit parts may serve as a stimulus to remind the child of sexual abuse.

Their genitalia, breasts, mouth openings, and anal openings allow for more precise communication than speech or nonexplicit dolls.

For many children, who actually have the language to communicate, showing what happened with the dolls may be easier than telling.

How to Use Anatomically Explicit Dolls

There is no scientifically demonstrated right or wrong way to use the dolls. Everson and Boat have reviewed the various guidelines for using anatomical dolls and have determined that there are five different functions they may serve - comforter, ice-breaker, anatomical model, demonstration aid, or memory stimulus. The most commonly endorsed functions are as an anatomical model, as a demonstration aid, or as a memory stimulus.

When the dolls serve different functions, they may be used in different ways. Three methods of using the dolls and the functions they serve are described.

Scenario in which the child spontaneously engages with the dolls. Some interviewers have the dolls available in the room with their clothing on. Children will sometimes pick up the dolls and begin playing with them. Depending on the stage of the interview, the interviewer may encourage the child to examine the dolls more closely. This process may involve the use of several dolls, usually four, and may include identifying them by gender and whether adult or child, undressing them, and identifying body parts, including the private body parts. In this process, the dolls may serve as a memory stimulus.

The interviewer may interpret unusual reactions to the dolls, for example, marked fear or sexualized behavior, as indicative of possible sexual abuse, and will want to pursue these reactions further. The child might be asked why seeing the doll caused her/him to be so upset. If sexualized behavior was noted, the child might be asked who does that and additional questions about the acts the child has demonstrated.

Similarly the sight of the genitalia on the dolls may serve as a memory stimulus and result in a statement about sexual abuse or something indicating advanced sexual knowledge. Again the interviewer will pursue these leads by asking for specifics and further information.

When the mere sight of the dolls with genitalia does not lead to any information, the interviewer may use them as an anatomical model. Using the names the child has given for the genitalia, the interviewer asks questions about the dolls and their genitalia. Below are sample questions about the penis and possible responses. It is important that the interviewer have in his/her repertoire a range of ways to approach the child, but the interviewer should allow the child ample time to respond and avoid a barrage of questions.

"Who has a 'dingdong'?" "Did you ever see one?" "Whose did you see?" "Does anything ever come out of the `dingdong'?" If the child responds yes, "What color is it?" If the child says white, milk, or like snot, "Did any ever get anywhere on or in you?"

"Did anyone ever try to do something to you with a 'dingdong'?" "What did he try to do?" "Can you show me with the dolls?"

"Did anyone ever want you to do something to or with his 'dingdong'?" "Can you show me with the dolls what he wanted you to do?" "Did you have to do it?"

"Do you know what a 'dingdong' feels like?" "Does it ever change?" "Does it ever get bigger?" "Is it hard or soft?" "Is it hanging down, or does it stick up?" "Can you show me with the dolls how it goes?"

About the Author

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