Leiden University Student Repository

Kuijper, Yolanda (2024)

Het verband tussen fantasierijkheid, leeftijd van kinderen, inaccuraatheid en uitgebreidheid van verklaringen tijdens een kindverhoor

Master thesis | Education and Child Studies (MSc)

Children are to be interrogated when there are suspicions of physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, murder, or other crime in their near environment. Although these children are very vulnerable and their information could be of great value for the criminal investigation, there’s often a lack of expertise in interrogating young victims. There has also not much been researched yet about child characteristics in relation to the length and correctness of statements. In the current study has therefore been researched to what extent the imaginativeness of children, besides age, could predict the extensiveness and inaccuracy of statements during a child interrogation. The sample consisted of 31 children between 7 and 11 years old. The children participated in a yoga lesson with three parts. Each part consisted of a certain number of forensic details. A week after the yoga lesson, the children participated in an interrogation where they had been asked about what they...Show moreChildren are to be interrogated when there are suspicions of physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, murder, or other crime in their near environment. Although these children are very vulnerable and their information could be of great value for the criminal investigation, there’s often a lack of expertise in interrogating young victims. There has also not much been researched yet about child characteristics in relation to the length and correctness of statements. In the current study has therefore been researched to what extent the imaginativeness of children, besides age, could predict the extensiveness and inaccuracy of statements during a child interrogation. The sample consisted of 31 children between 7 and 11 years old. The children participated in a yoga lesson with three parts. Each part consisted of a certain number of forensic details. A week after the yoga lesson, the children participated in an interrogation where they had been asked about what they remembered about the yoga lesson. The variables were measured by questionnaire and by recordings of the child interrogations. The results of a correlation analysis showed no significant correlations between all four variables. Besides, the stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that imaginativeness, besides age, did not predict the extensiveness and inaccuracy. Therefore, the study showed that imaginative children did not necessarily show more extensiveness and inaccuracy in their answers during the interrogation, despite positive expectations on basis of earlier studies. Some limitations of the current study have possibly contributed to these results. As extensiveness and accuracy of statements is necessary for good results in criminal investigation and proper handling of the case, it is important to continue with research about child interrogation and to find out which factors could contribute to more extensiveness and accuracy of statements.Show less

child interrogation, imaginativeness, age, extensiveness, (in)accuracy

Author

Kuijper, Yolanda

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Forensische Gezinspedagogiek

Supervisors

Baartmans, J.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

nl