Findings from Research on Children's Suggestibility and Implications for Conducting Child Interviews

Abstract

The primary purpose of investigations of suspected child maltreatment should be to arrive at valid conclusions about the “truth” of the matter. Determinations about whether child maltreatment has occurred are often based, at least in part, on the perceived reliability of the statements of the suspected child victim. This has given rise to questions about children's suggestibility and the impact of various child interview practices on the reliability of children's statements. Recent research has attempted to address some of these questions in a more “ecologically valid” fashion than did earlier research. This article summarizes pertinent research relating to children's suggestibility and discusses the implications of this research as it relates to child interview practices. Specific suggestions are offered for minimizing suggestibility effects and maximizing the reliability of children's statements during child interviews.

Questioning Child Witnesses in New Zealand's Criminal Justice System: Is Cross-Examination Fair?

“…Hanna et al salient or central information tends to be better remembered than information that is peripheral (Fivush, Peterson, & Schwarzmueller, 2000;Reed, 1996;Toth & Valentino, 2008). Inconsistencies around peripheral details are to be expected.…”

The influence of social instructions on the effectiveness of a cognitive interview used with very young child witnesses

“…In this particular context, this instruction increases the reliability of children's reports (see discussion in Lyon, 2011). Finally, the main goal of the ground rules of communication (step iii), such as the "Child can say I don't know" and "Interviewer knows nothing about the event" instructions is to overcome a common belief shared by most children about the adult's knowledge, that is "since one adult (e.g., the perpetrator) knows what took place, other adults must already know too" (e.g., Bull, 1992;Reed, 1996). As stated by Bull (1992), it also reverses an usual rule governing the conversations children have with adults, that is: "Adults know and children ask questions".…”

The Witch-Hunt Narrative

“…Present-day interviewers ask children to promise to tell the truth, give them permission to correct the interviewer, and offer reinforcement when children correct the interviewer, but that is the extent of methods to address suggestibility (e.g., Lyon, 2014). In the 1990s, some experts advocated the use of lead-away questions, such as those used by Treacy, in forensic interviews (Reed, 1996), but this strategy is not found in current forensic interview protocols.…”