The book's intent is to assist professionals in the use of valid techniques that will enable the evaluator to provide the courts with accurate information. The first chapter discusses the sources of commonly cited child abuse statistics and the methodological problems that confound these statistics. Chapter 2 addresses the role of the mental health professional in evaluations of child sexual abuse allegations, followed by a chapter that reviews normative behavior throughout childhood and one that discusses the development of children's memory and their susceptibility to memory alterations. Three chapters review evaluation models, specific interview techniques, and the empirically derived criteria used to assess the veracity of a child's statements of sexual abuse. Another chapter reviews both normative and comparative studies on the most common prop, the anatomical dolls. A chapter discusses standardized observation systems, behavior rating scales, and projective assessment tools for evaluating child sexual abuse. The concluding chapter presents a case study of an allegation of child sexual abuse to show the assessment process described in the preceding chapters. 418 references and a subject index