PSYC 3120 Chapter 6 - Child Witnesses and Victims - FINAL

history - Salem Witch trials

children’s testimony believed with no doubt, leading to 20 executions

history - Early 1900’s

Negative attitude toward child witnesses and doubt about the accuracy of their testimony

did research show that children are highly suggestable and have trouble separating fact form fiction?

yes!

4 factors of the increase in child memory research

1. Expert psychological testimony was beginning to become more accepted in the courtroom

2. Social scientists were starting to become interested in applied research

3. Studies on adult eyewitness testimony were emerging at this time

4. The legal community was interested in research on child witnesses due to increase of abuse cases

Important question for researchers is whether children are able to recall events…

accurately

Research indicates children can recall events accurately if…

proper questioning techniques are used

what is better, free recall or direct questioning

free recall

are childrens recall comparable to adults

yes? check

are leading questions good

no, they are problematic

Children tend to answer any question asked of them, regardless of whether they are…

logical

ex: is blue heavier than yellow

are Children or adults more susceptible to leading questions

kids

kids are more likely to say idk to ____ questions rather that ______ questions

w questions

yes/no questions

4 facts of child recall

1. younger kids report fewer details

2. accurately report details of exterior features ( like hair)

3. less accurate for interior features ( weight, age)

4. key to obtaining accurate testimony is using free narrative

key to obtaining accurate testimony is using

free narrative

source misattribution

Reporting an event one heard about as an event they experienced

Could be from TV, other people, imagination

recalling multiple events

Children may rely on scripts when asked to describe an event that occurred multiple times

Could harm child’s credibility in court

recall after delay

Slow court process means there can be a long time between event and disclosure

Memories are less accurate and more susceptible to suggestion after delay

Is using complex language a barrier for the child to understand?

Yes.

Do experts tailor their language to the child's linguistic ability?

No, they fail to do so

Children also may use words they do not understand, which can…

misconstrue info

Ex: calling ketchup du du du

Do legal professionals struggle to understand children?

yes!

why is an interview a novel context for a child?

bc adults are the ones who usually have the answers

Do children look for cues when answering questions?

Yes, to see if they are answering correctly.  Things such as nodding, smiling, being told good job

It is recommended to avoid approval/disapproval cues when interviewing children

Social compliance

children trust and want to cooperate with adult interviewers and therefore may respond to questions they do not have the knowledge to answer

Cognitive issues

differences exist in adult and child memory processes and children are more likely to misattribute the origin of info

Are children likely to misattribute the origin of their info?

Yes.

historic child sexual abuse

remembering forgotten abuse as an adult

happens when seeking therapy for another reason

False memory syndrome

false belief that one was sexually abused as a child

Suggested by a therapist

Factors affecting relayed recall (5)

Age

Techniques used

Similarity oof reports

Motivation

Time elapsed

Anatomically detailed dolls

dolls that have male or female anatomy

Assumption is that with assistance from these dolls, children can provide info they would not be able to express verbally

Child are comfortable and enjoy play

issues with anatomically detailed dolls

1. not empirically supported

2. dolls are not standardized

3. do standardized measures

4. made up details can be made

Not empirically supported

same amount of accurate details with and without the dolls; regardless of doll use

-Use of dolls led to more contradictions and fantastical details

-Younger children particularly prone to errors when using dolls

Dolls are not standardized

no guidelines for manufactures

Professionals sometimes make their own dolls

no standardized measures

how do we know the difference between play of a child who was harmed/ not harmed

are the dolls a good resource

no.

Human figure drawings

2D image of a human body ( human body diagram)

Created based on belief that kids would understand drawings better than dolls

When interviewed using a human figure drawing not many new details were provided, but more false touch reports

The use of representational aids (dolls and drawings) for diagnosing sexual abuse can be…

inaccurate and dangerous

Criterion-based content analysis

created in Europe in the 50s to distinguish truthful vs false statements made by children

CBCA is one stage of a comprehensive interview called statement validity analysis  3 steps:

Structured interview

Systematic analysis of the verbal content of victim statement using CBCA

Statement validity check

Criteria of CBCA

General characteristics:

logical structure – is it coherent ( ex-elephant in backyard)

Quality of details- specific descriptions of time, places, people

Specific contents:

Contextual embedding: is the action connected to other daily

routine events?

Unusual details: details that are unusual but meaningful?

Motivation related contents:

Spontaneous corrections/additions

Admitting lack of memory

Issues with the CBCA (4)

1. Lacks standardization, interviewers can use as many or as few criteria as they wish

2. Age is positively correlated with CBCA score

Younger children lack language skills required

3. CBCA is not based on theoretical framework and there is not empirical evidence supporting it

4. CBCA is a subjective task, doesn’t take interrater reliability into account

It is iffy, but still used.

you should start an interview with the least ____ and end with ______

least leading questions

direct questions as needed

Opening

children are asked free recall questions followed by more specific questions

Probing

asking follow up questions based on opening

Direct

asking direct questions, children sometimes do better with this

Where was the step wise interview developed and used?

Developed in Canada and used in Canada

Issues with the interview?

The main limitation of this method is that no field experiments have been conducted to test its efficacy

Narrative elaboration

Children are first taught to organize stories into categories using cards ( given the people card when asked about people)

Asked for free recall of event

Cards are used for additional info

is narrative elaboration good

yes! it increases amount of correct info without increasing fabrication

is narrative elaboration used often?

no

Cognitive interview (learned in a previous unit)

Based on memory retrieval techniques (4)

1. Reinstating context 
2. Reporting everything 
3. Recalling in different orders 
4. Recalling from different perspectives 
 

The CI was originally created for use with adult witnesses, but has been adapted for use with children over the age of…

seven

National institute of child health and human development protocol

Interviewers are encouraged to ask open-ended questions that start with tell, explain, describe

Kids are bad with open ended questions and do not often provide information through free recall, so this method includes 2 prompts:

Time Prompts

Cue prompts

Does research show that this method increases accurate information provided by children?

Yes

GOLD STANDARD OF CHILD INTERVIEWING

NICHD Protocol (11 stages)

1. Introduction ( your day at school, bday party, family vacation)

2. Rapport building

3. Training in episodic memory

4.Transition to Substantive Issues

5. Investigating the Incident(s)

6. BREAK – interviewer will plan rest of interview

7. Eliciting information NOT mentioned

by child

8. Probe new information

9. Information about disclosure process

10.Closure

11.Neutral Topic- end on a good topic, you don’t want the child leaving thinking off the bad event

Ex: what are you going to do with the rest of the day?

First 3 stages in NICHD protocol are... 

pre unrelated stories

Stages 4-11 in NICHD protocol are... 

substantive (related to the crime)

what is stage 11 in NICHD

leave on a neutral topic, you dont want the child leaving on a bad note

Key Features of NICHD protocol (5)

Structured guidelines

Uses open invitations

Uses prompts to build open ended questions

Following script reduces chance of suggestibility bias

Validated by numerous empirical studies

Lineup ID with kids (3)

1. Children older than 5 are comparable to adults when making a correct ID when the target is PRESENT in lineup

2. Children up to 14 produce LOWER correct rejection than adults and MORE false positives when target is ABSENT from a lineup

3. Children have trouble with sequential line ups ( making an absolute decision)

Elimination lineup (2)

Relative judgement -all lineup photos are presented, child picks the person who looks most like target

Absolute judgement- Child asked to compare their memory of the perpetrator with the chosen photo and decide if it is the perpetrator

Competency inquiry

must demonstrate general cognitive ability to communicate

before 2006

Had to prove they knew the difference between truth and lies – define each term, understand the meaning of an oath, and explain the consequences of lying

after 2005 - Bill C2

Kids under 14 presumed to have the capacity to testify

Their capacity can be challenged but must be proven by opposing lawyer

Must promise to tell the truth

It can be very hard for a kid to testify in court, so accommodations have been made (5)

Physical barriers from child to target ( screen/shield) during testimony

Presence of a support person – can't be someone who is also testifying who HASNT yet bc you can't know what's going on

Pre-recorded video testimony

Allow hearsay evidence

Courtroom to public

Types of child abuse (4)

Physical

Sexual

Neglect/failure to provide

Emotional abuse – verbal abuse, terrorizing ( threaten to hurt them, siblings, pets)

Are children who are abused likely to experience more than one simultaneously?

Yes

whos responsibility is it to report child abuse

government

In need of protection

A child’s need to be separated from their caregiver because of maltreatment

what type of abuse is most common

neglect

Risk of Physical abuse

Kid:

being male

Adult:

Young male

Unplanned preg

Single parent

Past kid abuse

Spousal assult in home

Past substance abuse

Low SES

Risk of Sexual abuse

Being female

Living in a family without a biological parent

Poor relationship between parents

Presence of a step-father

Poor parent-child relationship

EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE

SHORT-TERM

Reduced perceptual-motor skills (physical skills, hand-eye coordination

Lowered intellectual functioning

Lower academic achievement

Externalizing behaviour – e.g., aggression

Mental health difficulties – e.g., depression

EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE

LONG-TERM

Heavy drinking in adolescence/alcoholism in adulthood

Victimization and social rejection by peers

Engaging in child physical abuse

Engaging in spousal abuse

EFFECTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

SHORT-TERM

Behaviour problems

Lowered self-esteem

Inappropriate sexuality

Symptoms consistent with PTSD – e.g., intrusive memories, negative mood, easily startled

Physical difficulties – e.g., sleep disturbance, eating disorders

EFFECTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE 
 

LONG TERM

Psychiatric disorders – e.g., depression, anxiety, self-harm, distrust of others

Dysfunctional disorders – e.g., oversexualized behaviour

Neurobiological dysregulation – reduced hippocampal volume (similar to veterans suffering from PTSD)

What brain area reduces due to trauma?

Hippocampus volume

Not all children who experience maltreatment will …

experience/suffer from negative outcomes!