Use of Anaphora in Criminal Cases of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse: It, That, This, These, and Those

In child sexual abuse trials, attorneys often use demonstrative anaphors, such as it, that, this, these, and those, to refer to children's earlier statements, questions, or portions of them. For example, after a child says, "He left the room," an attorney may ask, "What happened after that?" Here, that is an anaphor referring to the multi-word statement "He left the room." To answer such questions, children must identify the intended referent and retrieve the relevant information, increasing cognitive load and potentially leading to brief responses or misunderstanding. We examined how the anaphors it, that, this, these, and those shaped responses from 5- to 10-year-old children in 40 trial testimonies comprising 12,314 question-answer (Q-A) pairs. Prosecuting and defense attorneys frequently used anaphora, appearing in 30% of Q-A pairs. When anaphors replaced multi-word or compound referents rather than single-word referents, children's elaboration decreased. Contrary to expectations and prior studies, children elaborated more when a Q-A pair contained multiple anaphors. Elaboration and misunderstanding also increased when children, rather than attorneys, first introduced an anaphor. We conclude that those questioning children about sexual abuse should avoid using anaphora for multi-word or compound referents and promptly clarify any anaphoric referent to reduce misunderstanding or incomprehension.