Gathering evidence from young and vulnerable witnesses requires special care, and subjecting them to the traditional adversarial form of examination and cross-examination – often characterized by overly leading, complex, and confusing questioning – has come under increased scrutiny. The present program of research was designed to investigate: 1) four features of lawyers’ questioning techniques (question type [Chapter 1], linguistic complexity [Chapter 2], question repetition [Chapter 3], and question content [Chapter 4]), 2) how these parameters affected children’s responses (including an in-depth analysis of children’s propensity to express uncertainty [Chapter 5]), and 3) whether the children’s ages affected the ways they were questioned or how they responded. The sample of court transcripts was drawn from 36 trials involving 56 children aged 5 to 17 years old who testified about alleged sexual abuse in Scotland between 2009 and 2014. Analyses showed that a large proportion of the questions posed to children by lawyers were suggestive questions that implied expected responses or introduced undisclosed information. Questions were overly complex linguistically, heavily repetitious, and focused to a large extent on peripheral elements of the allegations. In response, children acquiesced to suggestions most of the time and expressed uncertainty less than might be expected, given the nature of the questioning. Overall, both prosecutors and defense lawyers were insensitive to the capacities of children of different ages. The way children are questioned in court can have negative influences on the quality of the evidence obtained, regardless of the lawyers’ roles or the children’s ages. It is suggested that, in order for trials to be fair, evidence needs to be elicited in accordance with research-informed best-practice guidelines. More advanced training, the use of intermediaries, and the Barnahus model are discussed as potential ways to support the implementation of best-practice questioning strategies.

This exploratory study examined the manner in which variations in questioning procedures influenced the amount and accuracy of information that children and young adults recalled about a video-taped incident. Preschoolers, 8 to 10-year-olds and young adults were assigned to one of three conditions. In the control condition, one interviewer had complete knowledge of the incident and used a standard question protocol to obtain free recall. To examine how prior knowledge may predispose interviewers to use leading questions, 60 interviewers in the informed condition had limited information about the incident and 60 interviewers in the blind condition had no information about the incident and both groups were free to use their own questioning strategies. The two major dependent measures were spontaneous material (elicited in response to all question types) and yes/no responses to closed questions. Two main hypotheses and several additional questions were examined. The first hypothesis predicted that the amount of spontaneous recall in the blind and informed conditions would be higher but the accuracy lower, when compared to material elicited in the free recall condition across age-groups. Although results showed a significant increase in recall amount, there was a differential effect on accuracy. For the two younger age-groups accuracy decreased but for the adult sample, accuracy scores remained stable across the three conditions. There were clear age-related differences in the amount of material freely recalled in the control condition and no differences in accuracy. In the blind and informed conditions, there were significant age-related differences in both the amount and accuracy of spontaneous recall material. The second hypothesis predicted that closed questions which are leading (in the correct sense) would elicit more accurate responses than those that are misleading. Results supported this hypothesis for the two older samples but there was no difference between the two accuracy scores for the youngest samples. The two older age-groups scored significantly higher than the pre-school sample for accuracy based on leading questions, but there were no age-related differences in response to misleading questions. The blind and informed conditions did not differ in the accuracy of spontaneous recall or closed question material. Accuracy scores were adjusted by subtracting errors associated with particular features in the questioning context and the subject’s developmental status. In comparing the original and adjusted accuracy scores, age-related differences for spontaneous recall were minimal and disappeared for accuracy based on closed questions. In addition to language and comprehension errors, the error type which most clearly distinguished the pre-school from the older age-groups were addition errors classed as incorrect inferences and fabrications. In all cases, these error types were associated with one or more features of the questioning context. The sequential nature of the question/response discourse was highlighted in the proportion of error which was extended over a sequence of turns and the proportion of interviews containing one or more e>ror retractions. For both measures, the two younger groups scored higher that the young adult group. Age related differences were also found in the amount and accuracy of material in the interviewer reports as well as in the components of report error. The results include a detailed outline of the manner in which fabricated material emerged, the circumstances under which it was retracted and the degree to which it appeared in the interviewer reports. Also reviewed are qualitative features relating to the form, content, techniques and style of questioning as well as characteristics of young children’s language, thinking and perception. The results are compared to previous research findings regarding age-related differences in question/response material with specific focus on issues regarding children’s inaccuracy, suggestibility and inability to distinguish fact from fantasy. Productive and counter-productive questioning procedures are discussed in relation to the demand characteristics of the interview setting, the nature of repeated questioning and a number of related issues specific to questioning in the forensic context. Practical application of the findings are discussed with a particular focus on improving non-leading questioning skills in applied settings. / Graduate

The South African Constitution provides that a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child. This principle emanates from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). Accordingly the State and its various departments have adopted and are enforcing legislation and policies in defence of the child’s best interest. The principle of the best interest of the child is seldom observed in most of our schools. Incidents of child abuse are on the increase, especially by educators. This unfortunate situation prevails against the backdrop of legislation which condemns these atrocities. Section 17 of the Employment of Educators Act1 provides that educators must be discharged if they are found guilty of, inter alia, sexual abuse, intimate relationship with a learner and assault with grievous bodily harm. These measures have been taken to combat the vicious cycle of child abuse in schools and to advance children’s-rights agenda and the universal principle of the child’s best interests. For the department to successfully prosecute educator cases against child abuse, the testimony of a child witness is crucial. However, it is shocking to discover that the interests of the child witness are not always served in these disciplinary hearings. Officials are prone to be biased towards their fellow professionals at the expense of the interest of the child witness. This situation normally arises probably as a result of a lack of professional capacity because most of these officials tasked with disciplining educators have a teaching, human-resource or legal qualification. Others may have been recruited from the ranks of the trade-union movement without any formal qualification. Secondly, they may be specialists in the field of labour law which is essentially concerned with the regulating the employer and employee relationship. Thirdly, the disciplinary code and procedures that are used during educator-disciplinary processes are premised on the principles and values of the Labour 1 Act 76 of 1998. Relations Act Code of Good Practice: Dismissal2 and Schedule 2 of the Employment of Educators Act3 which addresses the interest of the child witness to a very limited extend. Finally, the policies regulating workplace discipline are generally biased towards employee rights as espoused in the Labour Relations Act4 and CCMA guidelines on misconduct arbitrations. This study has identified a number of challenges confronting the child witness and also areas of capacity improvement on the side of officials officiating over the disciplinary cases of educators. These challenges form the basis for a comprehensive and consolidated list of aspects in which officials need to be trained to effectively promote and defend the interest of the child witness in a professional manner. The role of the departmental representative in becoming the champions of the democratic Constitution and the vanguard of the child’s best interest cannot be over-emphasised. The question of how best to serve the best interest of the child witness has been addressed. The child witness can be a credible witness provided officials win over his or her confidence to speak out against abuse. The 16 days of activism against women and children abuse has to resonate consciously with departmental officials.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of intensive play therapy as a method of intervention for child witnesses of domestic violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of intensive play therapy in: (a) improving the self-concept of child witnesses of domestic violence; (b) reducing internalizing behavior problems, such as withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety, and depression, of child witnesses of domestic violence; (c) reducing externalizing behavior problems, such as aggression and delinquency, of child witnesses of domestic violence; (d) reducing overall behavior problems, including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and social problems, thought problems, and attention problems, of child witnesses of domestic violence; and (e) improving play behaviors in the areas of affection, contact, physical proximity, self-direction, aggression, mood, play themes, and food nurturing themes.

No description available.

No description available.

Previous research on the weapon focus effect indicates that schematic knowledge plays a large role in adult witnesses' ability to recall details of a crime. This study investigated whether the weapon focus effect would be found in young children (4- and 5- year-olds), whose schemas are less developed than those of adults. An experiment was conducted in which adults and children viewed a videotape depicting a male target stealing money from a woman's purse. In the four conditions, the target's apparent occupation and the objects that he held were manipulated, so that only one condition depicted a schema inconsistency between his occupation and the object. After watching the videotape, the participants were interviewed for details regarding the target's physical appearance and the object. As predicted, the schema inconsistency resulted in decreased recall accuracy for both children and adults. These results suggest that the weapon focus effect can be generalized to young children and that their eyewitness accounts are similar to those of adults. Additionally, adults recalled a significantly greater number of details than did the children, which was also predicted. It was interesting and unexpected to find that overall. adults recalled significantly more accurate descriptions than the children. This finding was contradictory to the results of some previous studies on eyewitness memory. / Department of Psychological Science

The effect of a weapon on memory accuracy for children and adults was examined. One-hundred eighty-six participants (87 7- and 8-year-old children and 99 college undergraduates) viewed one of four videotaped scenes in which a target individual committed a crime while carrying either a weapon that was consistent or inconsistent with his schema role or a neutral non-weapon that was consistent with his role. Participants were individually interviewed about the target's physical appearance. The results indicated that participants of both age groups were less accurate when the target individual carried a weapon that was inconsistent rather than consistent with his schema role. The results also indicated that adults were more accurate overall than children. These findings are consistent with previous findings on weapon focus effect and add to our knowledge of the development of memory. / Department of Psychological Science

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Newcastle, 1999. / Department of Psychology. Bibliography: leaves 228-262. Also available online.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universiẗat Würzburg, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-321).