NCJ Number
129538
Journal
Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 33-41
Date Published
1991
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A child's ability to accurately and completely provide information has been a recurring concern in child sexual abuse proceedings. Recent studies indicate that older children may be able to provide information, but social and motivational factors can negatively affect their willingness to report it.
Abstract
How children of different ages treat information they have been asked to conceal, how they understand secrecy, and under what conditions they are most likely to reveal their secrets is particularly relevant in the study of children's testimony. It is probable that children are capable of intentional concealment and secrecy at earlier ages than previously thought. To children, the difference between lying and concealing information may lie in the commitment made to another person not to tell. Recent studies have found that older children are more easily influenced than younger children by a request to keep a secret. The manipulation of motivation for maintaining secrecy also has an effect; older children who had been threatened or bribed were less likely to reveal the information than younger children. The relationship of the person to whom secrecy was promised and the presence of that person in a courtroom may further inhibit a child from breaking his silence. Therefore, inconsistencies or omissions in a child's testimony may not necessarily indicate unreliability. 40 references (Author abstract modified)