2025 CAPSAC Paul Crissey Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research

A graduate student at California State University, Los Angeles, Annabel was recognized for her impactful study, “Recanting: Children’s Descriptions of Familial Pressures to Recant Child Sexual Abuse.”

 

Through in-depth analysis of forensic interviews, her work sheds light on the emotional and relational pressures that lead children to recant-even in substantiated cases of abuse. Her research challenges harmful assumptions about recantation and emphasizes the need for trauma-informed, child-centered responses in legal and protective services.

 

Congratulations to Annabel for advancing the field and giving voice to children’s experiences. This award honors her excellence in research and her deep commitment to child protection.