Psychological Barriers to the Detection of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract Adults sexually abusing children where they work or volunteer has become painfully familiar not only to survivors of sexual abuse but also to their families, law enforcement, and the schools, churches, youth-serving organizations, and other institutions within which so many cases occur. In the aftermath of discovering that sexual abuse occurred, questions invariably arise as to why the abuse was not detected earlier. This chapter describes two different psychological phenomena that help to explain why child sexual abuse is difficult to recognize ex ante, and, paradoxically, why it is so easy to recognize ex post. These phenomena are “halo effects” and the “hindsight bias,” respectively. This chapter reviews basic and applied research bearing on each as well as research on potential debiasing strategies. Halo effects and hindsight bias have significant implications for civil lawsuits that are occasioned by sexual abuse that occurs within organizations.