Children's suggestibility research: Things to know before interviewing a child
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Anuario de Psicología Jurídica
Abstract
Children's testimony is often the only evidence of alleged abuse. Thus, the importance of conducting forensic interviews that are free from bias and misleading information is immense, as these could lead to false reports. In the current paper, we review unexpected findings in children's suggestibility that illustrate the difficulty in distinguishing between false and accurate reports. We explore situations in which a younger person's memory account may be more accurate than that of an adult, when a single suggestive interview may be as detrimental as multiple interviews, and when children can make inaccurate reports spontaneously. We conclude with recommendations for interviewers to decrease false reporting by both children and adults. (Author Abstract)
Description
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Article
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Keywords
child abuse, court, testimony, memory, demographic factors, cognitive factors, bias, psychological factors, literature review
Citation
Hritz, Amelia Courtney ; Royer, Caisa Elizabeth ; Helm, Rebecca K. ; Burd, Kayla A. ; Ojeda, Karen ; Ceci, Stephen J. (2015). Children's suggestibility research: Things to know before interviewing a child. Anuario de Psicología Jurídica, 25(1), 3-12.