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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Deception of parents during adolescence
D Knox1, M E Zusman, K McGinty
1Department of Sociology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858, USA. Knoxd@mail.ecu.edu
Abstract:
Two hundred eighty-one undergraduates at a large university in the southeastern United States anonymously completed a 26-item questionnaire about the degree to which they deceived their parents during high school. Only five percent of the respondents reported that they had never lied to their parents about "where I was." "Who I was with," "my alcohol use," and "my sexual behavior" were additional topics about which they lied the most. It was also found that (1) females lied more than males about sexual behavior, (2) the opposite-sex parent was deceived more often, and (3) intact homes were associated with more lying. Respondents also reported more lies when they lived with their parents than when they left for college. The implications of the findings are discussed.
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