Applied Developmental Science · 1999 · 44 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesHuman DevelopmentPsychologyChild DevelopmentDevelopmentally Appropriate PracticeForensic PsychologyChild AbuseChild Sexual AbuseInterview MethodologyInterview MethodsQuestioning TechniquesWitness InterviewsChild Sexual Abuse Forensic InterviewingChild Witness InterviewingChildren In Truth ProcessesDevelopmental AppropriatenessForensic Interviewing Of ChildrenInteractive Event DesignInterviews Of Child WitnessesTruth-lie Distinction
Two studies examined discussions of truth and lying during interviews with children. In Study 1, truth-lie discussions (TLDs) during 132 actual sexual abuse interviews were analyzed, focusing on the types of questions asked and their developmental appropriateness. TLDs, which were fairly common for all ages of children interviewed, typically involved asking children closed-ended questions and did not differ in quality or form by age of child interviewed. Study 2 compared the typical TLDs (found in Study 1) to either no discussion or a more elaborate discussion in their effects on preschoolers' (n = 67) reports of an interactive event. Children given the extended TLD were significantly more accurate than those questioned following a typical or no TLD. The results suggest that discussing truth and lying with young children is effective only if the discussion is more elaborate than those typically conducted in forensic interviews.