NCJ Number
223242
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 47 Issue: 1/2 Dated: 2008 Pages: 138-167
Date Published
2008
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the differences in truthful and fabricated allegations of trauma as a function of individual differences.
Abstract
The results of this study collectively suggest that detection of deceptive statements concerning victimization is not a straightforward matter. It concludes that reliance on the content of narratives to make credibility determinations is useful, but individual factors should not be ignored, and recommends that when examining deception in victim or offender populations, the forensic assessment of alexithymia (difficulty identifying or describing feelings), dissociation, and social desirability can assist in determining the veracity of trauma reports. The study examined the potential influence of these factors on the narrative features associated with truthful and fabricated events. Participants wrote narratives describing both genuine and fabricated traumas and completed scales measuring individual differences. Alexithymia was associated with less plausible reports (independent of veracity) and differential reporting of emotional details between narratives. Higher levels of dissociation were related to less coherent and plausible reports, and less contextual detail in fabricated reports. Coherence and plausibility ratings fluctuated between low, moderate, and high social desirability groups. Participants included undergraduate university students, 58 males and 233 females, with a mean age less than 20 years of age who had experienced a traumatic event after the age of 16. Measures employed were memory instructions and written narratives, and use of the Paulhus Deception Scale, Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Table, figure, references