Perceptions of Allegations of Repeated Victimization: The Roles of Event Frequency, Language Specificity, and Disclosure Delay

Although many forms of victimization are repeated (e.g., domestic violence), we know relatively little about the perceived credibility of adult claimants who allege repeated maltreatment. We examined the effects of Event Frequency (Single vs. Repeated), Language Specificity (Episodic vs. Generic), a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Snow, Mark D. (Author)
Contributors: Brubacher, Sonja P. ; Malloy, Lindsay C. ; Luther, Kirk
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Journal of interpersonal violence
Year: 2023, Volume: 38, Issue: 5/6, Pages: 4925-4944
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Keywords:
victim blame
Disclosure
Domestic Violence
Credibility
Victimization
repeated events
Description
Summary:Although many forms of victimization are repeated (e.g., domestic violence), we know relatively little about the perceived credibility of adult claimants who allege repeated maltreatment. We examined the effects of Event Frequency (Single vs. Repeated), Language Specificity (Episodic vs. Generic), and Disclosure Delay (Immediate vs. Delayed) on laypersons’ perceptions of claimant credibility. Participants (N = 649) read a mock interview transcript and provided subjective ratings (e.g., credibility, likelihood of suspect guilt, claimant responsibility). When the alleged abuse occurred a single time (vs. repeatedly), participants rated the interviewee as less blameworthy but no more (or less) credible. Exploratory findings indicated that female participants viewed the interviewee as more credible and less responsible than did male participants.
ISSN:1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/08862605221120903