Research Articles related to Child Testimony

Deficient cognitive control fuels children’s exuberant false allegations. 
Poole, Debra Ann, Dickinson, Jason J., Brubacher, Sonja P., Liberty, Allison E., Kaake, Amanda M., (2014).  
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Vol 118, Feb, 2014. pp. 101-109.
Abstract:
In eyewitness studies as in actual investigations, a minority of children generate numerous false (and sometimes incredulous) allegations. To explore the characteristics of these children, we reinterviewed and administered a battery of tasks to 61 children(ages 4–9 years) who had previously participated in an eyewitness study where a man broke a “germ rule” twice when he tried to touch them. Performance on utilization, response conflict (Luria tapping), and theory of mind tasks predicted the number of false reports of touching (with age and time since the event controlled) and correctly classified 90.16% of the children as typical witnesses or exuberant (more than 3) false reporters. Results of a factor analysis pointed to a common process underlying performance on these tasks that accounted for 49% of the variability in false reports. Relations between task performance and testimony confirmed that the mechanisms underlying occasional intrusions are different from those that drive persistent confabulation and that deficient cognitive control fuels young children’s exuberant false reports.

Individual Differences in Children’s Suggestibility: A Review and Synthesis.
Bruck, Maggie, Melnyk, Laura
Applied Cognitive Psychology, Vol 18(8), Dec, 2004. Special issue: Individual and Developmental Differences in Suggestibility. pp. 947-996.
Abstract:
Over the last decade, there has been a significant growth in the study of individual differences factors predicting children’ssuggestibility. In this paper, we synthesize the results of 69 studies examining the relationship of demographic factors (socioeconomic status and gender), cognitive factors (intelligence, language, memory, theory of mind, executive functioning, behavioural ratings of distractibility, and creativity), and psycho-social factors (social engagement, self concept/self-efficacy, stress/emotional arousal/state anxiety, maternal attachment styles, parent-child relationship, parenting styles, temperament, and mental health) and children’s suggestibility. We found that for cognitive factors, language ability and creativity were fairly consistently related to suggestibility. The highest correlations for psycho-social factors and suggestibility were obtained for measures of self-concept/self-efficacy, maternal attachment, and the parent-child relationship. Implications for future research and mechanisms underlying children’s suggestibility are discussed.

Children’s memory for their mother’s murder: Accuracy, suggestibility, and resistance to suggestion.
McWilliams, Kelly, Narr, Rachel, Goodman, Gail S., Ruiz, Sandra, Mendoza, Macaria
Memory, Vol 21(5), Jul, 2013. Special issue: Memory and The Law: Case Studies. pp. 591-598.
Abstract:
From its inception, child eyewitness memory research has been guided by dramatic legal cases that turn on the testimony of children. Decades of scientific research reveal that, under many conditions, children can provide veracious accounts of traumatic experiences. Scientific studies also document factors that lead children to make false statements. In this paper we describe a legal case in which children testified about their mother’s murder. We discuss factors that may have influenced the accuracy of the children’s eyewitness memory. Children’s suggestibility and resistance to suggestion are illustrated. Expert testimony, based on scientific research, can aid the trier of fact when children provide crucial evidence in criminal investigations and courtroom trials about tragic events.

Editor’s preface to the special issue.
Geffner, Robert (Ed).
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 21(1), Jan, 2012. pp. 1-2.
Abstract:
Over the past three decades, there have been contested issues and controversies about the most appropriate and effective techniques for investigating and forensically interviewing children when sexual abuse allegations occur. The current special issue of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse focuses on some of the controversies and contested issues, and also challenges some of the ideas advanced by some authors in the Kuehnle and Connell book. Commentaries by some of the authors of this special issue and other experts in the field will also be published. It is hoped that this exchange will enable greater consensus about evaluating child sexual abuse allegations, thereby ensuring that children who have been sexually abused are identified in the evaluation or investigation of the allegations, and that children who have not been sexually abused are also correctly categorized.

Putting it all together.
Finkel, Martin. 
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 20(6), Nov, 2011. pp. 643-656.
Abstract:
The most available form of evidence in child sexual abuse cases is what the child has to say about his or her alleged experience. The most difficult skill for clinicians to develop is the “how tos” of talking to children in a developmentally appropriate, nonjudgmental, facilitative, and empathetic manner. This manuscript provides insight into obtaining historical details about a child’s experience and guidance regarding how to incorporate those details when formulating a balanced and defensible opinion. The consultative report should be an instrument to explain the presence or absence of physical findings, the significance of symptoms temporally related to sexual contact, and discrepancies between a child’s perception of an experience and physical findings.

A call for field-relevant research about child forensic interviewing for child protection.
Olafson, Erna.
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 21(1), Jan, 2012. pp. 109-129.
Abstract:
This article reviews some sensitivity versus specificity imbalances in forensic investigations of child sexual abuse. It then proposes the development or further testing of additional approaches for those children who do not respond to the current, single-interview National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) protocol. Although there are other interview protocols based on similar principles, the NICHD protocol has the strongest evidence base in both field and laboratory studies to elicit detailed and accurate information from children. Adaptations of the NICHD protocol or additional approaches need to be developed and tested for nondisclosing, partially disclosing, or recanting children, very young children, children with developmental disabilities, and children whose sexual abuse allegations are evaluated in the context of custody or visitation disputes.

Interviewing children versus tossing coins: Accurately assessing the diagnosticity of children’s disclosures of abuse.
Lyon, Thomas D., Ahern, Elizabeth C., Scurich, Nicholas. 
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 21(1), Jan, 2012. pp. 19-44.
Abstract:
We describe a Bayesian approach to evaluating children’s abuse disclosures and review research demonstrating that children’s disclosure of genital touch can be highly probative of sexual abuse, with the probative value depending on disclosure spontaneity and children’s age. We discuss how some commentators understate the probative value of children’s disclosures by: confusing the probability of abuse given disclosure with the probability of disclosure given abuse, assuming that children formally questioned about sexual abuse have a low prior probability of sexual abuse, misstating the probative value of abuse disclosure, and confusing the distinction between disclosure and nondisclosure with the distinction between true and false disclosures. We review interviewing methods that increase the probative value of disclosures, including interview instructions, narrative practice, noncontingent reinforcement, and questions about perpetrator/caregiver statements and children’s reactions to the alleged abuse.

A response to commentary on Faust, Bridges, and Ahern’s (2009) “Methods for the identification of sexually abused children”.
Ahern, David C., Bridges, Ana J., Faust, David. 
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 21(2), Mar, 2012. Special issue: Male and female survivors of sexual abuse. pp. 210-219.
Abstract:
Responds to the comments made by M. D. Everson and K. C. Faller (see record 2012-04562-004) & T. D. Lyon et al (see record 2012-04562-003) on the current authors’ chapters in the book The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony (see record 2009-01883-000). Our series of three chapters (Faust, Bridges, & Ahern, 2009a, 2009b; Bridges, Faust, & Ahern, 2009) on the methodology of identifying sexually abused children elicited a number of comments, both supportive and critical. The criticisms appear related to three primary issues or apparent misconceptions of our work, perhaps due in part to incomplete exposition or ambiguity in presented material: our use of hypotheticals, our argument against “double-dipping,” and our use of Bayesian analyses. We address each of these criticisms here in the hope of clarifying any misunderstandings and contributing in a constructive way to progress in this critical arena.

Event memory and suggestibility in abused and neglected children: Trauma-related psychopathology and cognitive functioning.
Chae, Yoojin, Goodman, Gail S., Eisen, Mitchell L., Qin, Jianjian.  Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Vol 110(4), Dec, 2011. pp. 520-538.
Abstract:
This study examined event memory and suggestibility in 3- to 16-year-olds involved in forensic investigations of childmaltreatment. A total of 322 children were interviewed about a play activity with an unfamiliar adult. Comprehensive measures of individual differences in trauma-related psychopathology and cognitive functioning were administered. Sexually and/or physically abused children obtained higher dissociation scores than neglected children, and sexually abused childrenwere more likely to obtain a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder than physically abused children, neglected children, and children with no substantiated abuse histories. Overall, older children and children with better cognitive functioning produced more correct information and fewer memory errors. Abuse status per se did not significantly predict children’s memory or suggestibility whether considered alone or in interaction with age. However, among highly dissociative children, more trauma symptoms were associated with greater inaccuracy, whereas trauma symptoms were not associated with increased error for children who were lower in dissociative tendencies. Implications of the findings for understanding eyewitness memory in maltreated children are discussed.

Methodological issues and practical strategies in research on child maltreatment victims’ abilities and experiences as witnesses.
Chae, Yoojin, Goodman, Gail S., Bederian-Gardner, Daniel, Lindsay, Adam. 
Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol 35(4), Apr, 2011. pp. 240-248.
Abstract:
Modern scientific research on child maltreatment victims’ memory abilities and court experiences has informed and guided legal professionals, policy makers, mental health professionals, and the lay public for nearly three decades. The importance of addressing legal, psychological, and clinical issues on behalf of child witnesses has spawned an abundance of research. For the past several decades, our laboratory has conducted a number of research projects to examine child maltreatment victims’ abilities and experiences as witnesses. In this paper, we first review several scientific studies performed by our laboratory with maltreated children and adults. Specifically, we describe some of the laboratory’s key studies on maltreated children’s memoryand suggestibility and then some of our key studies on maltreated children’s reactions to criminal and dependency court, including their later reactions as adults. Following this, we address practical strategies used to deal with many of the challenges involved in child witness research projects when actual child victims are involved. We focus on methods for recruiting maltreatment victims, seeking informed consent for research participation, ensuring representativeness of samples, selecting appropriate interview questions and questionnaires, and retaining participants longitudinally. When considering each of these, we first address a number of general points, and then separately discuss problems and practical strategies that emanate from research on memory and suggestibility of maltreated children, followed by problems and practical strategies that arise in research on children’s legal involvement. The one exception is that in considering practical challenges of conducting longitudinal research, the issues for memory and suggestibility research and those for children’s legal involvement studies largely overlap and are discussed together.

Commentaries on contested issues in the evaluation of child sexual abuse allegations: Introduction to the current commentaries.
Faller, Kathleen Coulborn, Everson, Mark D.
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Research, Treatment, & Program Innovations for Victims, Survivors, & Offenders, Vol 21(2), Mar, 2012. Special issue: Male and female survivors of sexual abuse. pp. 200-202.
Abstract:
The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony is composed of 20 chapters written by scholars with diverse areas of expertise, such as clinical decision making, child forensic interviewing, research on memory and suggestibility, and professional ethics. The majority of chapters offer excellent reviews of relevant research as well as practical guidelines for forensic evaluators seeking to update to best practice standards. However, at least four chapters in the Kuehnle and Connell (2009) book dispute the validity of long-established forensic methodology. Because of concerns that such criticisms of established practice may be mistaken by the courts and child welfare professionals as representative of empirical or expert consensus, we assembled a group of experienced forensic evaluators and respected childmaltreatment researchers to prepare articles that challenge the most troubling chapters in the Kuehnle and Connell book. The resulting six articles were published as a recent special issue of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse (JCSA) (2012, Volume 21, Issue 1) entitled, “Contested Issues in the Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Evaluations.” The six commentaries in this section continue the discussion of this critical debate about what constitutes appropriate practice in CSA evaluations. The reader is cautioned that each commentary represents only one side of the debate. As authors of two of the JCSA special issue articles (Everson & Faller, 2012; Faller & Everson, 2012), we urge the reader to refer to the special issue articles, as well as the original Kuehnle and Connell chapters, for a more complete perspective.

Children’s eyewitness memory: Methodological issues.
Goodman, Gail S., Pipe, Margaret-Ellen, McWilliams, Kelly
Research methods in forensic psychology. Rosenfeld, Barry (Ed.); Penrod, Steven D. (Ed.); pp. 257-282. Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2011. xvi, 535 pp.
Abstract:
(from the chapter) In this chapter, we first describe a modicum of case law that concerns child witnesses. We then turn to a brief history of scientific research on child eyewitness memory. Internal and external validity issues and ethical concerns are also reviewed. We then discuss methodological issues regarding trauma and child memory, child maltreatment and memory, children’s suggestibility and false memory, forensic protocols, and children’s testimony in court.

Talking with children about past events: Children’s memory and suggestibility.
Gregory, Amy Hyman, Carol, Rolando N., Compo, Nadja Schreiber, A clinician’s guide to normal cognitive development in childhood. Sandberg, Elisabeth Hollister (Ed.); Spritz, Becky L. (Ed.); pp. 159-175. New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. x, 257 pp.
Abstract:
(from the chapter) Although much of this chapter will have a legal/forensic perspective, the issues discussed have important implications for all clinicians, practitioners, and educators who are working with children in a variety of settings. Namely, to understand the harmful effects that suggestibility can have on children’s recollections of personal experiences is important for anyone interacting with children. For example, what would you do if you suspected that a child might be the victim of abuse or a bullying situation? How do you verify a child’s report about a domestic violence situation or make decisions regarding the child’s best interests when a child is trapped in the midst of a bitter parental divorce? Having the best interest of the child at heart, most professionals would strive to obtain as much information as possible from the child, resulting in the child being asked many questions. However, the way a child is questioned about a negative experience may influence his or her memoryfor what happened. Therefore, a primary goal of this chapter is to build upon what we know about children’s memory(Chapters 7 and 8) to help readers understand the most effective and least damaging procedures to use when talking to childrenabout past experiences. Investigating children’s nonabuse experiences (e.g., witnessing a bad car accident, negative interactions with a teacher) should be approached with the same care and precautions that one might use when concerned about an abuse situation. The variables and techniques described in the following sections evolved from forensic interviews surrounding suspected child abuse but should be applied to any situation in which children talk about negative events.

Child maltreatment and memory.
Goodman, Gail S., Quas, Jodi A., Ogle, Christin M.
Annual Review of Psychology, Vol 61, 2010. pp. 325-351.
Abstract:
Exposure to childhood trauma, especially child maltreatment, has important implications for memory of emotionally distressing experiences. These implications stem from cognitive, socio-emotional, mental health, and neurobiological consequences of maltreatment and can be at least partially explained by current theories concerning the effects of childhood trauma. In this review, two main hypotheses are advanced: (a) Maltreatment in childhood is associated with especially robust memory for emotionally distressing material in many individuals, but (b) maltreatment can impair memory for such material in individuals who defensively avoid it. Support for these hypotheses comes from research on child abuse victims’ memory and suggestibility regarding distressing but nonabusive events, memory for child abuse itself, and autobiographical memory. However, more direct investigations are needed to test precisely when and how childhood trauma affects memory for emotionally significant, distressing experiences. Legal implications and future directions are discussed.

Children as witnesses.
Davies, Graham, Pezdek, Kathy
Forensic psychology. Towl, Graham J. (Ed.); Crighton, David A. (Ed.); pp. 178-194. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. xv, 458 pp.
Abstract:
(from the chapter) When children are victims of a crime, frequently their testimony is the only prosecution evidence in the case. This is because crimes against children—particularly crimes of child abuse – typically occur in situations that are unlikely to involve other evidence or other witnesses. It is thus especially important that child witness evidence be collected, documented and evaluated carefully. Elsewhere, Pezdek (1994) has argued about the costs and benefits of weighing children’seyewitness accounts too lightly or too heavily. Suffice it to say here, that weighing children’s eyewitness accounts too lightly can result in the perpetuation of child victimisation; weighing children’s eyewitness accounts too heavily can result in false charges that can permanently destroy families. In light of the dire consequences at both ends of this criterion, it is critical for forensic investigators and the courts to understand the factors that affect children’s memory for traumatic events, and to follow procedures that are most likely to maximise the veracity of children’s accounts. In this chapter we first present what is known from the scientific research about factors that affect the veracity of children’s memory, with the focus on the topics of the suggestibility of children’s memory and false memories for childhood events. Second, we review research on interview procedures and the special measures that have been suggested for interviewing children and presenting their evidence at court and discuss the experimental and field research on the utility of these procedures. Together, these two sections of this chapter provide the reader with a solid understanding of how best to interview children and present their evidence at court and the scientific basis for these recommendations. We believe that professionals are more likely to follow the suggested procedures if they understand the rationale for them.

Children’s false memory and true disclosure in the face of repeated questions.
Schaaf, Jennifer M., Alexander, Kristen Weede, Goodman, Gail S.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Vol 100(3), Jul, 2008. pp. 157-185.
Abstract:
The current study was designed to investigate children’s memory and suggestibility for events differing in valence (positive or negative) and veracity (true or false). A total of 82 3- and 5-year-olds were asked repeated questions about true and false events, either in a grouped order (i.e., all questions about a certain event asked consecutively) or in a nongrouped order (i.e., questions about a certain event were interspersed with questions about other events). Interviewer gender was also varied. Individual differences, including attachment style, inhibition, and behavioral adjustment, were examined as potential predictors of memory and suggestibility. Results revealed significant age, valence, and veracity effects on children’s memory reports. Path analysis demonstrated that individual differences in behavioral problems and inhibitory ability predicted children’sprovision of inaccurate information. Implications for psychological theory and legal application are discussed.

Children, sexual abuse and suggestibility: What laypeople think they Know and what the literature tells us.
Cossins, Anne
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Vol 15(1), Mar, 2008. pp. 153-170.
Abstract:
This article summarizes the extensive research literature on laypeople’s and jurors’ beliefs about children’s memory, suggestibility and responses to child sexual abuse. In particular, it discusses the extent and types of misconceptions held by laypeople/jurors, as well as the effects of age, education and gender on those misconceptions. The results from an analysis of mock jury studies where different types of expert testimony were presented are then considered in order to understand the types of expert testimony that would be admissible in courts in Australia, with a particular focus on the Uniform Evidence Act. As a result of this analysis, particular reform options are discussed and recommended in order to counter juror misconceptions in child sexual abuse trials.

A comparison of expert evidence and judicial directions to counter misconceptions in child sexual abuse trials.
Goodman-Delahunty, Jane, Cossins, Anne, O’Brien, Kate
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, Vol 44(2), Aug, 2011. pp. 196-217.
Abstract:
Studies on the influence of expert evidence and judicial instructions in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases have produced mixed outcomes. Using repeated measures, we tested the effectiveness of expert evidence and judicial directions in challenging common misconceptions about children’s memory and responses to sexual abuse. A CSA Misconceptions Questionnaire was administered to 118 psychology undergraduates who later served as virtual jurors in a simulated criminal trial. Specialized CSA knowledge was provided by a psychologist or via judicial directions. Expert evidence had two levels: clinical versus scientific testimony. Timing of judicial instructions had two levels: directions presented before the child testified versus during the judge’s summing up. In a fifth control condition, no specialized CSA information was included. After reading a trial transcript, mock-jurors assessed witness credibility, rendered verdicts and again completed the CSA Misconceptions Questionnaire. All four interventions significantly increased jurors’ CSA knowledge. The more they knew, the more likely they were to convict. Perceived victim credibility fully mediated the effect of CSA knowledge on verdict: information presented via expert testimony or judicial directions enhanced perceptions of victim credibility, which in turn increased convictions. Conviction rates were significantly higher in response to expert testimony from a clinical psychologist and a judicial instruction provided in the trial summation. These results are promising for courts and policy-makers grappling with low conviction rates in CSA jury trials.