EPPP Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Preparation Guide

Using anatomically correct dolls in assessing potential sexual abuse in children raises concerns primarily surrounding the validity and reliability of the findings. One of the critical arguments against their use is that these dolls may misdiagnose non-abused children as having been abused. This issue highlights the potential for false positives, where innocent play or exploration with the dolls could be interpreted as evidence of abuse when that may not be the case.

The concern lies in the subjective nature of interpreting a child's interactions with the dolls. Children, especially those who are imaginative and playful, may use these dolls to express a range of feelings, narratives, or experiences that do not necessarily correlate with actual abuse. As a result, the reliance on such tools can lead to misconceptions about a child's history and experiences, ultimately impacting their treatment and the conclusions drawn by professionals involved in their care.

The other arguments, while valid concerns in discussions about the use of anatomically correct dolls, are not as central to the overarching issue of misdiagnosis. Concerns about helping recover repressed memories or articulating experiences touch on different aspects of the therapeutic process but do not directly address the misinterpretation risk that comes from the dolls' potential to mislead practitioners regarding a child's actual experience. The potential for inducing sexual