Children as Victims, Offenders, Witnesses Flashcards
Martensville babysitting case
R. v. sterling (1995)
- Ms. L noticed a rash on her toddlers, suspected child abuse of her daycare provider
- several claims made against linda, ron and travis sterling
- Children stated they had been touched, confined in cages, forced to drink blood, whipped, thrown naked in freezers, ritual murder, dog stabbed to death, nipple bitten off
- Expert witness stated the interviews were too leading
Fabrication
Making false claims
Childrens ability to recall event
able to recall details accurately but had to tell if it is recall vs fabrication
Number of descriptors children provide and type of description
- 4-6 give 1
- 9-10 give 2.5
- older kids more likely to describe interior features
- both easily describe exterior features
- hair most commonly reported
- children have bad conception of age, height and weight
- child more likely to report positive information
Interviewing children
When given an opportunity to use free narrative, children’s accuracy for events are comparable to adults
- draw back is very little details
What to avoid when interviewing children
- leading questions
- approving or disapproving responses
- repeated interviewing close in time with event
- yes/no questions
Waterman et al. 2004 on types of questions
Methods
- 5 to 9 years old
- 10 minute discussion with interviewer
- shown pictures of 2 foods and 2 pets
- then asked yes/no questions and wh- questions
- half of each type were unknown to child
RESULTS
- when answerable preformed similar
- yes or no decrease likely of saying idk
- specifically felt comfortable with idk for how questions
What are the two hypothesis for why children are more suggestible
Social compliance and changes to cognitive system
- most likely a combination of both hypotheses
Social compliance
- Trust and want to cooperate with adult interviewers
- when asked impossible questions 5-7 year olds will answer
- real memory remains intact
Changes to cognitive system
- Children may encode, store, and retrieve memories differently
- Children more likely to misattribute where information came from - take suggestion as fact
Anatomically detailed dolls
- used specifically for abused
- Mixed results
- some believe that could be associated with adverse effect (trigger)
- not much consistency in use or structure
- tested on kids going in for medically necessary physical exams
Statement validity analysis
A protocol to distinguish truthful or false statements made by children
1. structured interview with victim
2. Systematic analysis of verbal content
3. Statement validity checklist
Criterion-based content analysis
Uses criteria to distinguish truthful from false statements made by children
- step 2 of SVA
What is the underlying assumption of CBCA
descriptions of real events differ in quality and content from memories that are fabricated
What are the best criteria for CBCA
- Quantity of details
- subjective experience
- interactions
Criticisms of CBCA
- May be less effective for younger children (less cognitive development and less commanded language)
- Inconsistencies with criteria that is considered truthful
- highly subjective, low inter-rater reliability
Narrative elaboration
Interview procedure whereby children learn to organize their story into relevant categories
- Participants, setting, actions, conversation/affective state
Study of narrative elaboration
- Tested with staged event, 3 conditions; narrative elaborations, cards alone, standard interview
RESULTS - increase accuracy info, no more info but less fabrication
False memory syndrome
False beliefs that one was sexually abused as a child
- no memories of abuse until therapy
The case of Michael Kliman
- 48 year old teacher accused by 2 former students of sexual abuse 20 years prior
- compliant A - claims she recovered memories after being admitted for eating disorder - no record of her coming to this realization (experienced other forms of harassment and stalking)
- Compliant B - recovered memories when questioned by police (a lot) - abused by neighbor, step brother
- Two expert witnesses: no science to suggest memory are lost after sexual abuse (leading questions)
- Kliman found guilty; appealed and no decision; finally acquitted on all counts
Hunter & Andrews (202) sexual abuse memory
- 42 of 74 women with history of childhood sexual abuse report having forgotten the abuse for a time
- these women are more likely to have forgotten semantic facts about their childhood
- subjective forgetting memory - would be able to remember if asked
Lindsay and read (1995) suggested criteria for memory of childhood sexual abuse
- Age at time of abuse
- Techniques used to recover memory - hypnosis, guided imagery heighten suggestibility, encourage fantasy
- Reports across time - does information get more fantastic over time
- Motivation for recall - other psychological distress
- Time elapsed
Sequential line up in children
Increased false positives
Two-judgement theory of identification accuracy
To reach an accurate identification decision, witness conduct both absolute and relative judgements
1. witness scan lineup and search for person who looks most like perp - relative
2. Witness compare the most similar lineup member to their memory of the perp - absolute
Elimination lineup
Newer procedure designed for kids that incorporates both relative and absolute judgement
1. All lineup photos shown to child - select who looks most like the perp
2. Child is asked to compare their memory with the selected photo. must then decide if the phot truly the perp
- decrease false positive, correct rejection increased
Competency Inquiry
Questions posed to witness to determine whether they:
- Can communicate the evidence
- Can understand the difference between the truth and lie
- Feel compelled to tell the truth
- Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of an oath
* Used before 2006 for children under 14 - many weren’t passing because of comprehension issues
