child witnesses/ child abuse (TEST5) Flashcards
why was there a renewed interest in child witnesses in 1970s?
-Expert psychological testimony becoming more acceptable in courtroom
-Social scientists were interested in research that could be applied to real-word problems
-Studies on adult eyewitness testimony increasing
-Legal community became interested in behavioral science branch regarding child witnesses
=in response to increasing number of reported sexual and physical abuse with child victim/ witness
recall for events in children
- Evidence shows children able to accurately recall forensically relevant details of events
- Accuracy of children’s report highly dependent on how they are asked to report
- Older children more resistant to leading question, leading questions problematic for preschoolers
fabricating
making false claims
how should children be questioned?
- Free narrative approach produces accuracy comparable to adults- yet children report little info this way
- Direct questions necessary to elicit required info
- ‘how’ questions produce more productive info
how does timing of suggestive interview influence children’s responses?
repeated interviewing close to time of event can heighten misinformation effects
Why are children are more susceptible than adults?
Social characteristics of interview:
- Respond in way they feel interviewer desires (social compliance)
- May respond to suggestive influences b/c they trust and want to cooperate w/ interviewers
- May infer desired response
- Young children asked nonsensical questions- many children provided yes/no answers
Changes to cognitive system
- Some research found developmental differences in ways children and adults encode, store, retrieve memories- and forgetting and retention
- Children misattribute where info came from
- Interaction of social and cognitive factors likely responsible for false info reporting
what is an anatomically detailed doll?
a doll that is consistent with the male or female anatomy
what are anatomically detailed dolls used for?
- Children may have difficulty verbalizing what occurred, and in their play with the dolls they demonstrate the events they experienced
- Research shows contradictory results
difficulties with anatomically detailed dolls
No specifications or guidelines available for manufacturers of dolls (no standardized look or procedure for scoring behaviors children exhibit with dolls)
Techniques for interviewing children (6)
- Human figure drawings
- Criterion based content analysis
- Step wise interview
- Narrative elaboration
- National institute of child health and human development (NICHD) interview protocol
- Cognitive interview
Human figure drawings
-Children thought to understand the representational nature of a 2D drawing at younger age than symbolic meaning of 3D models
- Brown et al. (2014)–>Staged incident involving toughing, 4 to 6 weeks later children were verbally interviewed
- Found more incorrect touched reported with HFD
Criterion based content analysis
=Uses criteria to distinguish truthful from false statements made by children
- Part of more comprehensive protocol called statement validity analysis- for credibility assessment of sexual abuse allegations – 3 parts:
1. structured interview with victim
2. Systematic analysis of verbal content of the victim’s statements using CBCA
3. Application of a statement validity checklist
Assumption is that descriptions of real events differ in quality and content from fabricated memories–>Assumed that true events more likely to contain CBCA criteria (18 criteria)
Criticism:
-Inconsistencies with # of criteria needing to be present to conclude truthfulness- and decision rules for reaching a conclusion
-Age of interviewee is positively correlated with scores on CBCA
-Younger children don’t have cognitive abilities and command of the language to provide statements as detailed as older- truthful statements of younger may be judged as doubtful
-May not be suitable to discriminate between children’s real and fabricated accounts of events
-Scores calculated using a truth-lie classification- assessor classifies statement based on own interpretation highly subjective
Roma et al (2011)
-Applied 14 of criteria to 60 confirmed and 49 unconfirmed cases of sexual abuse
-9/14 criteria more likely to be in confirmed
-Best criteria to distinguish between cases= quantity of details, interactions, and subjective experiences
Step wise interview
-Aims to keep false claims at minimum
- Consist of series of ‘steps’ designed to start the interview with the least leading and direct types of questioning, then proceed to more specific forms of questioning as necessary
1. Rapport building
2. Recall of 2 non-abuse events
3. Explanation of truth
4. Introduction of critical topic
5. Free narrative
6. General questions
7. Specific questions (if necessary)
8. Interview aids (if necessary)
9. conclude
Provide children with lots of opportunity to report by using free narrative first
Specific questioning occurs through use of wh- questions
Produces comparable amount of info during free narrative as modified interview- Action for child protection group was least effective
Modified was superior for wh- questions
Narrative elaboration
used infrequently
Children learn to organize stories into relevant categories: participants, settings, actions, conversation/ affective states, consequences
Card containing line drawing is available for each category as visual cues so children remember to state all they can
Practice telling stories with each card before being questioned about critical event (asked for free narrative), Then asked “does this card remind you to tell something else?”
Study:
-Children witnessed staged event, then interviewed with narrative-elaboration (training in use of reminder cards), exposure to the cue cards without training, or a standard interview without cards or training
-Narrative elaborative: reported more accurate info, but not more inaccurate info, also didn’t fabricate more info
Mental reinstatement didn’t increase accuracy
National institute of child health and human development (NICHD) interview protocol
Relies on open ended questioning w/ 2 types of prompts available to interviewers
1. Time prompts: have child fill in details and a timeline
2. Cue question prompts: details child has reported are used in the question and child asked to elaborate
Provides direction on how to start interview and how to introduce topic of abuse
Superior to standard interview procedures, particularly in school aged children
Revised protocol: improve rapport building and provide extra support in non-suggestive manner
–>More likely to report abuse than with standard NICHD
–>Use of multipart prompts not recommended
Cognitive interview
Children interviewed with report more accurate info than when interviewed in control conditions
False memory syndrome
client’s false beliefs that they were sexually abused as children, despite having no memories of this abuse until they enter therapy to deal with some other psychological problem, such as depression of substance abuse
Porter & Birt (2001)
University students described their most traumatic experience and most positive experience
5% reported sexual abuse or abuse as most traumatic experience – most said they forced the memory out of their mind but didn’t forget about it
Hunter & Andres (2002)
Compared memories of childhood sexually abused and non abused women
42% of abused women reported a period of time where they forgot about the abuse- yet also had memory impairments for a lot of things in their childhood
Ghetti (2006)
16% women abused in childhood reported having period of amnesia
Subjective forgetting more common in men and those with more severe abuse
Objective memory for details didn’t differ between those who had period of amnesia or not
Abuse hadn’t actually been forgotten- most said they would have remembered if asked about it
5 criteria to consider when determining the veracity of recovered memory
- Age of complainant at time of alleged abuse (unlikely to have memory before age 2)
2. Techniques used to recover memory 3. Similarity of reports across interview sessions 4. Motivation for recall 5. Time elapsed since alleged abuse
Historic child sexual abuse
allegations of child abuse having occurred several yrs, often decades, prior to when they are being prosecuted
children describing culprits
- younger children recall fewer items, older recall more interior facial features- hair most frequently mentioned by both
- Exterior features of hair are dominant descriptions for younger and older children
- Children more likely to accept positive, inaccurate info than negative, inaccurate info
- Misleading gestures resulted in significantly more misinformation provided by children regardless of age
why might children have difficulty with height, weight and age
Children might not understand relationship between height and weight
Lack experience with height and weight
children’s recognition of culprits
Children over age of 5 produce comparable correct identification rates as adults from lineups
When culprit not in lineup, children as old as 14 produced higher false positive than adults
Sequential lineup presentation increased false positive responding in children witnesses, in adults it decreased false pos
2 judgement theory of identification accuracy
Conduct relative and absolute judgements
First compare across lineup members and choose most similar to culprit (relative judgment)
Second, compare most similar lineup member to their memory of culprit and decide if actually the culprit (absolute)
Children often fail to make an absolute judgment- creating higher false positives
Elimination lineup
consistent with 2 judgment theory of identification accuracy
1. All lineup photos presented to child and asked to select member that looks most like culprit, remaining photos then removed
2. Child asked to compare memory of culprit with most similar photo selected- decide if is culprit
Slightly decreases false pos–> similar to adults when simultaneous procedure used
Social vs. cognitive factors responsible or children’s false pos responding
In target absent condition, social factors may exert their influence on children more so than memory problems
competency inquiry
-Prior to 2006, children under 14 had to pass a competency inquiry before testifying
=must demonstrate that they can communicate what they witnessed, critical for children to understand difference between saying truth and lying, and to feel compelled to tell truth
Now just asked simple questions to establish communication, and promise to tell truth
alternatives to testifying in court when under 18 (6)
- A shield/screen to separate child and defendant so child doesn’t see defendants face- child is visible to defendant and courtroom
- Child is allowed to provide testimony via closed circuit tv monitor. Child and lawyer in separate room than courtroom. Testimony televised to courtroom
- Child may have support person with them while testifying
- Child may be video-recorded while being interviewed about details of crime- video admitted into evidence
- Generally previous statements made by witness are considered hearsay and are inadmissible. However, in sexual abuse case this can be allowed into evidence
- Judge may close courtroom to public to protect child’s privacy
4 categories of child maltreatment
- Physical abuse Deliberate application of force to any part of child’s body resulting in non-accidental injury
- Sexual abuse–> Adult or youth uses a child for sexual purpose
- Neglect/ failure to provide–>child’s caregivers don’t provide requisite attention to child’s emotional, psychological or physical development
- Emotional maltreatment acts or omissions by caregivers that cause or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders
In need of protection
describes a child’s need to be separated from their caregiver because of maltreatment
Incidence
number of new cases in specific population occurring in a given time period
Prevalence
the proportion of population at a specific point in time that was maltreated during childhood
3 primary categories of substantiated maltreatment
Neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and physical abuse
Risk factors associated with child maltreatment
Child factors, parental factors, and social factors
Physical abuse risk factors
varied and include parents past childhood physical abuse, parent’s attitude towards pregnancy
Sexual abuse risk factors
revolve around family composition
ST effects of physical abuse
Greater perceptual-motor deficits, lower measured intellectual functioning, lower academic achievement, externalizing behavior, internalizing mental health difficulties
Neglect and physical abuse related to heavy episodic drinking during adolescents and young adulthood
Physical abuse at home can be associated with victimization by peers
LT effects of physical abuse
Strong relation between physical abuse and nonfamilial and familial violence
Own child abuse
Predicts inflicting and receiving dating violence in university student sample
what is related to greater likelihood of substantiated physical abuse compared to unsubstantiated physical abuse cases
Domestic violence, parental drug and alcohol use, prior child abuse ad neglect, being on public assistance and child behavior problems
ST effects of sexual abuse
Behavior problems. Low self esteem. Inappropriate sexuality, symptoms consistent with PTSD
Physical difficulties- sleep disturbances, eating disorders, stomach problems, headaches
–>After 2yrs show decrease in psychiatric symptoms
LT effects of sexual abuse
depression, self injury, anxiety, interpersonal distrust
