The Relationship between Suggestibility, Fabrication, Distortion, and Trauma in Suspected Sexually Abused Children

Being a victim of abuse in childhood can lead to the development trauma-related psychopathology, which could affect testimony child victim. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is factor that increase both levels suggestibility and production memory errors, such as confabulations, be identified distortions fabrications. No studies have analyzed relationship between suggestibility, fabrications, distortions, PTSD on samples children adolescents suspected being sexually abused. This study aims verify sample 221 abused effect PTSD, measured by Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children, increasing immediate delayed fabrications tasks, obtained Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 2, controlling age non-verbal intelligence. Our results show increases but it has no recall tasks. Moreover, leads greater number distorted fabricated information inserted memory. Forensic implications consequences tasks are discussed.