The child verbal competence effect in court: a comparative study of field investigative interviews of children in child sexual abuse cases |
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| Authors: | Trond Myklebust Roald A Bjørklund |
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| Institution: | 1. Norwegian Police University College, Box 5027, Majorstua, N-0301 Oslo, Norway;2. Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Box 1094, Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to compare field investigative interviews of children (FIIC) with three different legal outcomes in child sexual abuse cases: (i) insufficient evidence to proceed (IEP); (ii) convictions; or (iii) acquittals by the court. One hundred FIIC were divided into one of the three outcome possibilities. Amongst the female interviewees older than 10 years, there were no cases of acquittals and the convicted cases were over-represented. The children's response to open questions was found to be the main difference between the three FIIC outcomes. The responses to these open questions were 1.9 and 2.3 times longer in the convicted cases compared to acquittals and IEP. Possible explanations for the result are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | investigative interviews police questions court convictions |
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