Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

Given all these potential negative outcomes, some

suggest that child maltreatment is one of the greatest

social evils of our time, one that must be fought with

a great deal of financial and human resources. Even

so, as mentioned earlier, there is hope: Child maltreat-

ment rates have begun to decline, at least in the United

States. And many victims, although not unaffected by

their experiences, nevertheless grow up to lead pro-

ductive lives as good parents and citizens.

Bette L. Bottoms, LaTonya Harris,

Else-Marie Augusti, Gail S. Goodman,

Barbara A. Oudekerk, and Tisha R. A. Wiley

See also Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory;

Children’s Testimony; Children’s Testimony,

Evaluation by Juries; Child Sexual Abuse; Conduct

Disorder; Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS); Criminal

Behavior, Theories of; Eyewitness Memory; False

Memories; Intimate Partner Violence; Juvenile Offenders,

Risk Factors; Mental Health Needs of Juvenile Offenders;

Mood Disorders; Parens Patriae Doctrine; Parent-Child

Relationship Inventory (PCRI); Parenting Stress Index

(PSI); Pedophilia; Reporting Crimes and Victimization;

Victimization

Further Readings

Appleyard, K., Egeland, B., Van Dulmen, M., & Sroufe,

A. (2005). When more is not better: The cumulative role

of risk in child behavior outcomes. Journal of Child

Psychology and Psychiatry, 3,235–245.

Bottoms, B. L., & Quas, J. A. (Eds.). (2006). Emerging

directions in child maltreatment research. Journal of

Social Issues, 62,653–863.

Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2006). A developmental

psychopathology perspective on preventive interventions

with high risk children and families. In A. Renninger &

I. Sigel (Eds.),Handbook of child psychology(6th ed.).

New York: Wiley.

Goodman, G. S., Emery, R., & Haugaard, J. (1997).

Developmental psychology and law: Divorce, child

maltreatment, foster care, and adoption. In I. Sigel &

A. Renninger (Eds.),Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4.

Child psychology in practice(5th ed., pp. 775–876). New

York: Wiley.

Myers, J. E., Berliner, L., Briere, J., Hendrix, C. T., Jenny,

C., & Reid, T. (Eds.). (2002). The APSAC handbook on

child maltreatment.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Schwartz-Kenny, B. M., McCauley, M., & Epstein, M. A.

(Eds.). (2001). Child abuse: A global view. Westport, CT:

Greenwood Press.

Sroufe, L. A., Carlson, E. A., Levy, A. K., & Egeland, B.

(2003). Implications of attachment theory for

developmental psychopathology. In M. Hertzig &

E. A. Farber (Eds.),Annual progress in child psychiatry

and child development: 2000–2001(pp. 43–61). New

York: Brunner-Routledge.

CHILDREN’STESTIMONY

Children may experience or witness crime and may

need to provide reports to authorities. Children’s eye-

witness accounts can contain critical information

about serious acts such as murder, domestic violence,

kidnapping, and assault. Child sexual abuse is partic-

ularly likely to bring children into contact with the

criminal justice system because the case may boil

down to the child’s word against that of the accused.

Although even young children can provide accurate

accounts of their experiences, including highly trau-

matic incidents, such children on average are both less

complete in their memory reports and more sug-

gestible than older children and adults.

Like adults’ accounts, children’s accounts are influ-

enced by numerous factors, including cognitive, social,

and individual ones. Developmentally appropriate

interview protocols may contribute to obtaining com-

plete and accurate accounts while reducing inaccura-

cies in a child’s testimony. As part of a forensic

interview, children may have to identify culprits from

photo lineups. Children 5 years and older can perform

quite well if the culprit is pictured in the lineup; how-

ever, in “target-absent” lineups, even older children

have a strong tendency to guess. Children’s emotional

and attitudinal reactions to providing eyewitness testi-

mony in criminal cases can be long lasting. For exam-

ple, testifying multiple times, especially in severe

intrafamilial child sexual abuse cases, is associated

with adverse emotional and attitudinal reactions into

adulthood. Children in such cases may need additional

legal protections.

Memory and Suggestibility

in the Child Witness

During the past several decades, there has been an

exponential increase in the number of children who

provide statements in legal cases, thus magnifying the

need to determine the credibility of their testimony.

Children’s Testimony——— 77

C-Cutler (Encyc)-45463.qxd 11/18/2007 12:41 PM Page 77