NCJ Number
113651
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (1988) Pages: 295-304
Date Published
1988
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Because clinical studies have shown that play with sexually-explicit rag dolls reflects accurately the experiences of a young child, evidence of the play has been accepted as evidence by courts. To test the validity of this evidence, this study examined how 144 children between the ages of 3 to 8 who had not been sexually abused interacted in their play with anatomical dolls.
Abstract
The children were observed in a playroom containing the special dolls during three conditions: (1) with an adult present, (2) without an adult, and (3) with the dolls undressed. Nonabused children found the sexually explicit dolls no more interesting than other toys and exhibited little aggression and no explicit sexual activity. The study reinforces the need to take the aggressive and sexually explicit play of abused children seriously. 5 references. 6 tables.