The Productivity Of Wh- Prompts In Child Forensic Interviews, Elizabeth C, Ahern, Samantha J. Andrews, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Nov 2015
The Productivity Of Wh- Prompts In Child Forensic Interviews, Elizabeth C, Ahern, Samantha J. Andrews, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Child witnesses are often asked wh- prompts (what, how, why, who, when, where) in forensic interviews. However, little research has examined the ways in which children respond to different wh- prompts and no previous research has investigated productivity differences among wh- prompts in investigative interviews. This study examined the use and productivity of wh- prompts in 95 transcripts of 4- to 13-year-olds alleging sexual abuse in child investigative interviews. What-how questions about actions elicited the most productive responses during both the rapport building and substantive phases. Future research and practitioner training should consider distinguishing among different wh- prompts.
45. The Productivity Of Wh- Prompts In Child Forensic Interviews., Elizabeth C, Ahern, Samantha J. Andrews, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Nov 2015
45. The Productivity Of Wh- Prompts In Child Forensic Interviews., Elizabeth C, Ahern, Samantha J. Andrews, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Child witnesses are often asked wh- prompts (what, how, why, who, when, where) in forensic interviews. However, little research has examined the ways in which children respond to different wh- prompts and no previous research has investigated productivity differences among wh- prompts in investigative interviews. This study examined the use and productivity of wh- prompts in 95 transcripts of 4- to 13-year-olds alleging sexual abuse in child investigative interviews. What-how questions about actions elicited the most productive responses during both the rapport building and substantive phases. Future research and practitioner training should consider distinguishing among different wh- prompts.
44. The Effects Of Question Repetition On Responses When Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Question Children Alleging Sexual Abuse In Court, Samantha J. Andrews, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Aug 2015
44. The Effects Of Question Repetition On Responses When Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Question Children Alleging Sexual Abuse In Court, Samantha J. Andrews, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
This study examined the effects of repeated questions (n=12,169) on 6- to 12-year-olds’ testimony in child sexual abuse cases. We examined transcripts of direct- and cross-examinations of 120 children, categorizing how attorneys asked repeated questions in-court and how children responded. Defense attorneys repeated more questions (33.6% of total questions asked) than prosecutors (17.8%) and repeated questions using more suggestive prompts (38% of their repeated questions) than prosecutors (15%). In response, children typically repeated or elaborated on their answers and seldom contradicted themselves. Self-contradictions were most often elicited by suggestive and option-posing prompts posed by either type of attorney. Child age …
43. The Effects Of The Putative Confession And Parent Suggestion On Children's Disclosure Of A Minor Transgression. Legal And Criminological Psychology, Elizabeth B. Rush, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
Jul 2015
43. The Effects Of The Putative Confession And Parent Suggestion On Children's Disclosure Of A Minor Transgression. Legal And Criminological Psychology, Elizabeth B. Rush, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Purpose: This study examined the effects of the putative confession (telling the child that an adult “told me everything that happened and he wants you to tell the truth”) on children’s disclosure of a minor transgression after questioning by their parents. Methods: Children (N = 188; 4 – 7-year-olds) played with a confederate, and while doing so, for half of the children, toys broke. Parents then questioned their children about what occurred, and half of the parents were given additional scripted suggestive questions. Finally, children completed a mock forensic investigative interview. Results: Children given the putative confession were 1.6 times …
10. Ohio V. Clark: Brief Of Amicus Curiae American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner., Jeremy A. Lawrence, Daniel B. Levin, Kevin L. Brady, Maria Jhai, Thomas D. Lyon
Jul 2015
10. Ohio V. Clark: Brief Of Amicus Curiae American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner., Jeremy A. Lawrence, Daniel B. Levin, Kevin L. Brady, Maria Jhai, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
“Testimonial” statements are inadmissible against criminal defendants under the Confrontation Clause unless the declarant was subject to cross-examination. Statements are testimonial if the primary purpose of the speaker and the interrogator was to create an out-of-court substitute for trial testimony. Ohio v. Clark (2015) considered whether a 3-year-old’s disclosure of abuse to his teacher is testimonial. This brief surveyed case law, statutory law, and psychological and criminological research in arguing that it is not. First, young children do not appreciate that their disclosures may be used at trial, because they do not fully understand the legal system. Furthermore, many children …
42. Repeated Self And Peer-Review Leads To Continuous Improvement In Child Interviewing, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Jun 2015
42. Repeated Self And Peer-Review Leads To Continuous Improvement In Child Interviewing, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
The present study examined whether a training model that focuses on consistent exposure to protocol procedure, self-evaluation, and intensive peer-review sessions could improve interviewers’ ability to adhere to best practices. Law students (N = 19) interviewed 5- to 10-year-old children on a weekly basis as part of a semester-long forensic child interviewing class. They transcribed their interviews, and participated in one-hour self and peer-reviews. The proportion of each question type was calculated (option-posing, Wh-, and open-invitations) within each interview for each interviewer. Across ten weeks of interviews, interviewers consistently improved their performance, decreasing the proportion of option-posing questions by 31% …
41. Do Prosecutors Use Interview Instructions Or Build Rapport With Child Witnesses?, Elizabeth C, Ahern, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
May 2015
41. Do Prosecutors Use Interview Instructions Or Build Rapport With Child Witnesses?, Elizabeth C, Ahern, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
This study examined the quality of interview instructions and rapport-building provided by prosecutors to 168 5- to 12-year-old children testifying in child sexual abuse cases, preceding explicit questions about abuse allegations. Prosecutors failed to effectively administer key interview instructions, build rapport, or rely on open-ended narrative producing prompts during this early stage of questioning. Moreover, prosecutors often directed children’s attention to the defendant early in the testimony. The productivity of different types of wh- questions varied, with what/how questions focusing on actions being particularly productive. The lack of instructions, poor quality rapport-building, and closed-ended questioning suggest that children may not …
5. American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner, Ohio V. Clark (Merits), Thomas D. Lyon
Oct 2014
5. American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner, Ohio V. Clark (Merits), Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
No abstract provided.
40. Question Types, Responsiveness And Self-Contradictions When Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Question Alleged Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse, Samantha J. Andrews, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Oct 2014
40. Question Types, Responsiveness And Self-Contradictions When Prosecutors And Defense Attorneys Question Alleged Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse, Samantha J. Andrews, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
We examined 120 trial transcripts of 6- to 12-year-old children testifying to sexual abuse. Age and attorney role were analyzed in relation to question types, children’s responsiveness, and self-contradiction frequency. A total of 48,716 question-response pairs were identified. Attorneys used more closed-ended than open-ended prompts. Prosecutors used more invitations (3% vs. 0%), directives and option-posing prompts than defence attorneys, who used more suggestive prompts than prosecutors. Children were more unresponsive to defence attorneys than to prosecutors. Self-contradictions were identified in 95% of the cases. Defence attorneys elicited more self-contradictions than prosecutors, but nearly all prosecutors (86%) elicited at least one …
39. Young Children’S Difficulty With Indirect Speech Acts: Implications For Questioning Child Witnesses, Angela D. Evans, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon
Oct 2014
39. Young Children’S Difficulty With Indirect Speech Acts: Implications For Questioning Child Witnesses, Angela D. Evans, Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Kang Lee, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Prior research suggests that infelicitous choice of questions can significantly underestimate children’s actual abilities, independently of suggestiveness. One possibly difficult question type is indirect speech acts such as “Do you know…” questions (DYK, e.g., “Do you know where it happened?”). These questions directly ask if respondents know, while indirectly asking what respondents know. If respondents answer “yes,” but fail to elaborate, they are either ignoring or failing to recognize the indirect question (known as pragmatic failure). Two studies examined the effect of indirect speech acts on maltreated and non-maltreated 2- to 7-year-olds’ post-event interview responses. Children were read a story …
38. Social And Cognitive Factors Associated With Children's Secret-Keeping For A Parent., Heidi M. Gordon, Thomas D. Lyon, Kang Lee
Jul 2014
38. Social And Cognitive Factors Associated With Children's Secret-Keeping For A Parent., Heidi M. Gordon, Thomas D. Lyon, Kang Lee
Thomas D. Lyon
This study examined children’s secret-keeping for a parent and its relation to trust, theory of mind, secrecy endorsement, and executive functioning (EF). Children (N = 107) between 4 and 12 years of age participated in a procedure wherein parents broke a toy and asked children to promise secrecy. Responses to open-ended and direct questions were examined. Overall, secret-keeping increased with age and promising to keep the secret was related to fewer disclosures in open-ended questioning. Children who kept the secret in direct questioning exhibited greater trust and better parental ratings of EF than children who disclosed the secret. Findings highlight …
37. Attorneys' Questions And Children's Productivity In Child Sexual Abuse Criminal Trials., J. Zoe Klemfuss, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
May 2014
37. Attorneys' Questions And Children's Productivity In Child Sexual Abuse Criminal Trials., J. Zoe Klemfuss, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
We investigated the links between questions child witnesses are asked in court, children’s answers, and case outcome. Samples of acquittals and convictions were matched on child age, victim–defendant relationship, and allegation count and severity. Transcripts were coded for question types, including a previously under-examined type of potentially suggestive question, declarative questions. Children’s productivity was conceptualized in a novel way by separating new from repeated content and by adjusting the definition based on the linguistic demands of the questions. Attorneys frequently used declarative questions, and disconcertingly, attorneys who used these and other suggestive questions more frequently were more likely to win …
36. Evidence Summarized In Attorneys' Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals In Criminal Trials Of Child Sexual Abuse., Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
May 2014
36. Evidence Summarized In Attorneys' Closing Arguments Predicts Acquittals In Criminal Trials Of Child Sexual Abuse., Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Evidence summarized in attorney’s closing arguments of criminal child sexual abuse cases (N = 189) was coded to predict acquittal rates. Ten variables were significant bivariate predictors; five variables significant at p < .01 were entered into a multivariate model. Cases were likely to result in an acquittal when the defendant was not charged with force, the child maintained contact with the defendant after the abuse occurred, or the defense presented a hearsay witness regarding the victim’s statements, a witness regarding the victim’s character, or a witness regarding another witnesses’ character (usually the mother). The findings suggest that jurors might …
35. Interviewing Children., Thomas D. Lyon
May 2014
35. Interviewing Children., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
This article reviews best practice for interviewing child witnesses. In most officially recognized abuse cases, the child previously disclosed abuse, making it possible to elicit disclosures without asking closed-ended questions. Interviewers nevertheless overuse closed-ended questions, which lead to short unelaborated responses, privilege the limited perspective of the interviewer, maximize the potential for linguistic difficulties, increase children’s tendency to guess, and risk response biases. Interviewers can avoid closed-ended questions through narrative practice, in which interviewers ask children to narrate a recent innocuous event before introducing the abuse topic; cued invitations, in which interviewers repeat details reported by children and ask for …
34. Disclosure Suspicion Bias And Abuse Disclosure: Comparisons Between Sexual And Physical Abuse., Elizabeth B. Rush, Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Jodi A. Quas
Apr 2014
34. Disclosure Suspicion Bias And Abuse Disclosure: Comparisons Between Sexual And Physical Abuse., Elizabeth B. Rush, Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Jodi A. Quas
Thomas D. Lyon
Prior research has found that children disclosing physical abuse appear more reticent and less consistent than children disclosing sexual abuse. Although this has been attributed to differences in reluctance, it may also be due to differences in the process by which abuse is suspected and investigated. Disclosure may play a larger role in arousing suspicions of sexual abuse, while other evidence may play a larger role in arousing suspicions of physical abuse. As a result, children who disclose physical abuse in formal investigations may be doing so for the first time, and they may be more reluctant to provide details …
9. Children's Memory For Conversations About Sexual Abuse: Legal And Psychological Implications., Thomas D. Lyon, Stacia N. Stolzenberg
Mar 2014
9. Children's Memory For Conversations About Sexual Abuse: Legal And Psychological Implications., Thomas D. Lyon, Stacia N. Stolzenberg
Thomas D. Lyon
The legal and psychological literature on children’s testimony in child sexual abuse cases has largely focused on whether children are allowed to testify, how children testify, and what happens after they do. Those concerned about false convictions have emphasized the benefits of mechanisms to exclude children’s testimony that is unreliable because of pre-trial influence or developmental immaturity1 and the utility of expert testimony on children’s suggestibility. Those concerned about false acquittals have argued for eliminating barriers to receiving children’s testimony, the benefits of setting up special devices (such as screens or closed-circuit television) for receiving testimony, and the utility of …
33. Disclosing Adult Wrongdoing: Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Expectations And Preferences., Lindsay C. Malloy, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern
Jan 2014
33. Disclosing Adult Wrongdoing: Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Expectations And Preferences., Lindsay C. Malloy, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern
Thomas D. Lyon
Little is known about the process by which children disclose adult wrongdoing, a topic of considerable debate and controversy. In the current study, we investigated children’s evaluations of disclosing adult wrongdoing by focusing on children’s preferences for particular disclosure recipients and perceptions of the consequences of disclosure in hypothetical vignettes. We tested whether children thought that disclosure recipients would believe a story child as a truth teller and what actions the recipients would take against the ‘‘instigator’’ who committed the transgression. Maltreated and non-maltreated 4- to 9-year-olds (N = 235) responded to questions about vignettes that described a parent’s or …
4. American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner, Ohio V. Clark (Petition For Cert.), Thomas D. Lyon
Dec 2013
4. American Professional Society On The Abuse Of Children In Support Of Petitioner, Ohio V. Clark (Petition For Cert.), Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
No abstract provided.
12. Interviewing Victims And Suspected Victims Who Are Reluctant To Talk., Irit Irit Hershkowitz, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Nov 2013
12. Interviewing Victims And Suspected Victims Who Are Reluctant To Talk., Irit Irit Hershkowitz, Michael E. Lamb, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Most professionals know that many alleged victims do not disclose abuse when formally interviewed and that disclosure is affected by a variety of factors, among which the relationship between suspects and children appears to be especially important (see Pipe, Lamb, Orbach, & Cederborg, 2007, for reviews). Children––especially boys and preschoolers––are hesitant to report abuse by parents and guardians, particularly when sexual rather than physical abuse is suspected. For example, Pipe, Lamb, Orbach, Stewart, Sternberg, and Esplin (2007) reported that only 38% of the preschoolers interviewed disclosed sexual abuse by a parent even when the allegations were independently substantiated by corroborative …
32. Eliciting Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Transgression Disclosures: Narrative Practice Rapport Building And A Putative Confession., Thomas D. Lyon, Lindsay Wandrey, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Robyn Licht, Megan P.Y. Sim, Jodi A. Quas
Oct 2013
32. Eliciting Maltreated And Non-Maltreated Children’S Transgression Disclosures: Narrative Practice Rapport Building And A Putative Confession., Thomas D. Lyon, Lindsay Wandrey, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Robyn Licht, Megan P.Y. Sim, Jodi A. Quas
Thomas D. Lyon
This study tested the effects of narrative practice rapport building (asking open-ended questions about a neutral event) and a putative confession (telling the child an adult “told me everything that happened and he wants you to tell the truth”) on 4- to 9-year-old maltreated and nonmaltreated children’s reports of an interaction with a stranger who asked them to keep toy breakage a secret (n = 264). Only one third of children who received no interview manipulations disclosed breakage; in response to a putative confession, one half disclosed. Narrative practice rapport building did not affect the likelihood of disclosure. Maltreated children …
31. How Attorneys Question Children About The Dynamics Of Sexual Abuse And Disclosure In Criminal Trials., Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Sep 2013
31. How Attorneys Question Children About The Dynamics Of Sexual Abuse And Disclosure In Criminal Trials., Stacia N. Stolzenberg, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Little is known about how the dynamics of sexual abuse and disclosure are discussed in criminal court. We examined how attorneys ask child witnesses in sexual abuse cases (N #1; 72, 6–16 years of age) about their prior conversations, both with suspects and with disclosure recipients. Prosecutors’ questions were more open-ended than defense attorneys, but most questions asked by either attorney were yes/no questions, and children tended to provide unelaborated responses. Prosecutors were more inclined to ask about children’s prior conversations with suspects than defense attorneys, but focused on the immediate abuse rather than on grooming behavior or attempts to …
30. Facilitating Maltreated Children's Use Of Emotional Language., Elizabeth C. Ahern, Thomas D. Lyon
Aug 2013
30. Facilitating Maltreated Children's Use Of Emotional Language., Elizabeth C. Ahern, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
This study examined the effects of rapport (emotional, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [NICHD]) and prompt type (what-next, cued-action, cued-emotion, what-think) on one hundred forty-two 4-9-year-old maltreated children's spontaneous and prompted emotional language. Children in the emotional-rapport condition narrated the last time they felt good and the last time they felt bad on the playground. Children in the NICHD-rapport condition narrated their last birthday party and what happened yesterday. Following rapport, all children were presented a series of story stems about positive and negative situations. Emotional-rapport minimally affected children’s use of emotional language. Cued-emotion prompts were most …
29. Young Children’S Understanding That Promising Guarantees Performance: The Effects Of Age And Maltreatment., Thomas D. Lyon, Angela D. Evans
Jul 2013
29. Young Children’S Understanding That Promising Guarantees Performance: The Effects Of Age And Maltreatment., Thomas D. Lyon, Angela D. Evans
Thomas D. Lyon
Two studies, with 102 nonmaltreated 3- to 6-year-old children and 96 maltreated 4- to 7-year-old children, examined children’s understanding of the relative strengths of “I promise,” “I will,” “I might,” and “I won’t,” to determine the most age-appropriate means of eliciting a promise to tell the truth from child witnesses. Children played a game in which they chose which of 2 boxes would contain a toy after hearing story characters make conflicting statements about their intent to place a toy in each box (e.g., one character said “I will put a toy in my box” and the other character said …
16. Child Witnesses And Imagination: Lying, Hypothetical Reasoning, And Referential Ambiguity., Thomas D. Lyon
Jul 2013
16. Child Witnesses And Imagination: Lying, Hypothetical Reasoning, And Referential Ambiguity., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Children's resistance to unpleasant hypotheticals undermines their apparent understanding of the truth and lies. Better understanding of children's developmental limitations, improved questioning, and objections to developmentally insensitive questions could improve children's performance.
8. Child Witnesses And The Confrontation Clause., Thomas D. Lyon, Julia A. Dente
Apr 2012
8. Child Witnesses And The Confrontation Clause., Thomas D. Lyon, Julia A. Dente
Thomas D. Lyon
After the Supreme Court’s ruling in Crawford v. Washington that a criminal defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him is violated by the admission of testimonial hearsay that has not been cross-examined, lower courts have overturned convictions in which hearsay from children was admitted after child witnesses were either unwilling or unable to testify. A review of social scientific evidence regarding the dynamics of child sexual abuse suggests a means for facilitating the fair receipt of children’s evidence. Courts should hold that defendants have forfeited their confrontation rights if they exploited a child’s vulnerabilities such that they could reasonably …
27. Does Valence Matter? Effects Of Negativity On Children's Early Understanding Of Truths And Lies., Lindsay Wandrey, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
Mar 2012
27. Does Valence Matter? Effects Of Negativity On Children's Early Understanding Of Truths And Lies., Lindsay Wandrey, Jodi A. Quas, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Early deceptive behavior often involves acts of wrongdoings on the part of children. As a result, it has often been assumed, although not tested directly, that children are better at identifying lies about wrongdoing than lies about other activities. We tested this assumption in two studies. In Study 1, 67 3- to 5-year-olds viewed vignettes in which a character truthfully or falsely claimed to have committed a good or bad act. Children were biased to label claims that the character had committed a good act as the truth and claims that the character had committed a bad act as lies. …
11. Twenty-Five Years Of Interviewing Research And Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, And The Dynamics Of Abuse Disclosure., Thomas D. Lyon
Feb 2012
11. Twenty-Five Years Of Interviewing Research And Practice: Dolls, Diagrams, And The Dynamics Of Abuse Disclosure., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
A great deal of research in the past 25 years has contributed to our understanding of how best to interview children about suspected maltreatment. The disastrous failures of the highly publicized daycare abuse cases led to a flood of research, initially emphasizing the failures of conventional approaches, and more recently highlighting the potential for eliciting complete and accurate reports. If a child has disclosed abuse, and is willing to disclose again, we know what to do. Research supports the use of interview instructions, narrative practice rapport building, and the use of open ended questions to elicit and to elaborate on …
26. “How Did You Feel?”: Increasing Child Sexual Abuse Witnesses’ Production Of Evaluative Information., Thomas D. Lyon, Nicholas Scurich, Karen Choi, Sally Handmaker, Rebecca Blank
Dec 2011
26. “How Did You Feel?”: Increasing Child Sexual Abuse Witnesses’ Production Of Evaluative Information., Thomas D. Lyon, Nicholas Scurich, Karen Choi, Sally Handmaker, Rebecca Blank
Thomas D. Lyon
In child sexual abuse cases, the victim’s testimony is essential, because the victim and the perpetrator tend to be the only eyewitnesses to the crime. A potentially important component of an abuse report is the child’s subjective reactions to the abuse. Attorneys may ask suggestive questions or avoid questioning children about their reactions, assuming that children, given their immaturity and reluctance, are incapable of articulation. We hypothesized that How questions referencing reactions to abuse (e.g., “howdid you feel”) would increase the productivity of children’s descriptions of abuse reactions. Two studiescompared the extent to which children provided evaluative content, defined as …
25. Maltreated Children’S Ability To Estimate Temporal Location And Numerosity Of Placement Changes And Court Visits., Lindsay Wandrey, Thomas D. Lyon, Jodi A. Quas, William J. Friedman
Sep 2011
25. Maltreated Children’S Ability To Estimate Temporal Location And Numerosity Of Placement Changes And Court Visits., Lindsay Wandrey, Thomas D. Lyon, Jodi A. Quas, William J. Friedman
Thomas D. Lyon
Research examining children’s temporal knowledge has tended to utilize brief temporal intervals and singular, neutral events, and is not readily generalizable to legal settings in which maltreated children are asked temporal questions about salient, repeated abuse that often occurred in the distant past. To understand how well maltreated children can describe temporal location and numerosity of documented, personal experiences, we assessed 167 6- to 10-year-old maltreated children’s temporal memory for changes in their living arrangements and prior visits to court. Small percentages of children were capable of providing exact temporal location information (age, month, or season) regarding their first or …
24. Interviewing Children Versus Tossing Coins: Accurately Assessing The Diagnosticity Of Children’S Disclosures Of Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Nicholas Scurich
Jul 2011
24. Interviewing Children Versus Tossing Coins: Accurately Assessing The Diagnosticity Of Children’S Disclosures Of Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth C. Ahern, Nicholas Scurich
Thomas D. Lyon
We describe a Bayesian approach to evaluating children’s abuse disclosures and review research demonstrating that children’s disclosure of genital touch can be highly probative of sexual abuse, with the probative value depending on disclosure spontaneity and children’s age. We discuss how some commentators understate the probative value of children’s disclosures by: confusing the probability of abuse given disclosure with the probability of disclosure given abuse, assuming that children formally questioned about sexual abuse have a low prior probability of sexual abuse, misstating the probative value of abuse disclosure, and confusing the distinction between disclosure and nondisclosure with the dstinction between …
