Effects of Participation on Children's Reports: Implications for Children's Testimony

Effects of participation on children's reports of a real-life event were examined. Same-age pairs of 4- and 7-year-olds entered a trailer occupied by an unfamiliar man. One child participated in a set of games with the man, and the other sat and watched. Ten to 12 days later, children were individually questioned about the event. Free recall and answers to specific questions were related to age but unrelated to participation. However, participation lowered susceptibility to suggestion. Age differences in overall suggestibility were not found, but older compared with younger children were less suggestible about actions that took place. Regardless of age, however, children evidenced few commission errors to false suggestions about actions relevant to child abuse allegations.