Emotional valence and the types of information provided by children in forensic interviews

Emotions can powerfully affect memory retrieval although this effect has seldom been studied in everyday contexts. This study aimed to explore the association between children's verbal emotional expressions and the type of information reported during forensic interviews. The sample included 198 interviews with 4- to 14-year-old (M = 9.36, SD = 2.37) alleged victims of repeated physical abuse perpetrated by family members conducted using the Revised NICHD Protocol which emphasizes a supportive interviewing style. Interview videos were transcribed and each conversational turn was coded to reflect the amount and type of children's verbal emotional expressions, forensic information provided, interviewers' demeanor, and type of question asked. The verbal expression of negative emotions was positively associated with the production of more central details (β = 0.29, SE = 0.05, p