Preschool children's erroneous allegations of sexual molestation.
Occasionally, a preschool child may erroneously accuse a parent of molestation. When this occurs, the child usually believes that his or her story is correct. A false accusation can be made when an adult has persuaded a child that the sexual events actually occurred, when a child in the oedipal stage has misinterpreted caregiving ministrations, when a child's thought processes are confused by primary process material, or when a child is secondarily involved in the projective identifications of a dominant caregiver. More than one of these mechanisms may operate in a given case.
Yates
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Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson 85724.
Musty
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D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual; D002655:Child Custody; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D009813:Oedipus Complex; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011385:Projection; D014342:Truth Disclosure