NCJ Number
145419
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 17 Issue: 5 Dated: (September-October 1993) Pages: 613-622
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Children's perceptions of courtroom stress were examined in a study that compared children who were questioned in a mock courtroom with children questioned by the same interviewer in their own school.
Abstract
Thirty-four children, who were ages 8-10 and attending public schools in southern California, took part in the research. The participants included 13 males and 21 females. In a 30-minute staged event at the library at their school, they were taught about the parts and functions of the human body. A structured interview was conducted 2 weeks later to test their memory of the staged activity. Half the children were interviewed individually in a mock courtroom in the law school of a major university and half at their school. Results revealed that the children questioned at court had impaired memory performance when compared with their age- mates who were questioned at school. In addition, the children questioned at court rated certain court-related experiences as more stressful than did peers interviewed at school. Furthermore, children's perceptions of courtroom stress were negatively correlated with completeness of accurate free recall, suggesting the need for further research on the relationship between court-related stress and eyewitness memory. Tables and 23 references (Author abstract modified)