NCJ Number
202691
Journal
Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 241-252
Date Published
September 2003
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined the psychological vulnerabilities of people with learning or intellectual disabilities attempting to give reliable accounts of events when interviewed by the police and when testifying in court, with a distinction made between children and adults with learning (intellectual) disabilities and the implications of these differences.
Abstract
When victims and witnesses give inaccurate statements to police of what they saw or heard pertaining to a crime and their testimony in court is inaccurate, incomplete, or dishonest, this could mislead the court. Prior research identifies the credibility of witnesses comprising of two main components ability and motivation. In examining the psychological vulnerabilities of people with learning or intellectual disabilities, this study compared the memory and suggestibility of children (11- to 12-years-old) and adult witnesses with “mild” and “moderate” learning or intellectual disability, and their attempts to provide accurate accounts of a crime to the police and in court. In total, 110 children (66=boys and 44=girls) participated in the study with 44 children from normal inner London schools. In total, 221 adults (178=males and 43=females) who were randomly selected according to full-scale IQ scores to match those of the children’s scores participated. Study results indicate that children and adults with learning disabilities have much poorer memory and higher suggestibility scores than their contemporaries of normal intelligence. Important differences were revealed between children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Children with learning disabilities were more susceptible to altering their answers under pressure than were adults with learning disabilities. Study limitations are identified and discussed. References