Supportive or suggestive: Do human figure drawings help 5- to 7-year-old children to report touch?

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Memory and Recall Studies

Background:

• Accurate testimony from child witnesses is crucial in legal settings.
• Understanding factors influencing children's recall of sensitive events, like touching, is vital for justice.
• Previous research highlights memory fallibility in children, necessitating careful interview techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy of information recalled by young children about a staged event involving physical contact.
• To investigate how different questioning methods, including the use of human figure drawings, affect children's reporting of touch.
• To determine the reliability of child witness accounts regarding innocuous touch in forensic contexts.

Main Methods:

• Seventy-nine children aged 5–7 years were interviewed 4–6 weeks after witnessing a staged event with physical contact.
• Recall was assessed using a forensic-style interview protocol.
• Specific questioning about touch involved three conditions: drawings only, drawings with instruction, and verbal questions only.

Main Results:

• Most children provided new information during the touch-inquiry phase.
• Children interviewed using human figure drawings (both conditions) reported more incorrect information than those using only verbal questions.
• Forensically relevant errors were infrequent and rarely elaborated upon.

Conclusions:

• Asking children about innocuous touch, particularly with drawing aids, may increase unreliable information.
• The use of open-ended prompts to explore reported touches can mitigate errors in children's accounts.
• Interview protocols should carefully consider the impact of aids and questioning techniques on child witness accuracy.