Psychology Department, Queens College of the City University of New York, USA.
Br J Psychol. 2013 Feb;104(1):14-38. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02096.x. Epub 2012 Feb 21.
The negative effect of cross-examination-style questioning on children's accuracy is likely to be due to the complex and credibility-challenging questions that characterize the interview. Given that cross-examination occurs after at least one prior interview, however, it is equally possible that repeated interviewing per se impairs children's accuracy, and that the questions asked have little bearing on children's responses. To examine this issue, 5- and 6-year-old children (n= 82) and 9- and 10-year-old children (n= 103) took part in a surprise event and were then interviewed using an analogue of direct examination. Either 1 week or 6 months later, half of the children were re-interviewed with an analogue of cross-examination designed to challenge their direct examination responses. Remaining children were re-interviewed with the same questions that were asked during direct examination. Children's accuracy decreased following their second interview, irrespective of age or delay; however, delay particularly impacted younger children's second interview performance. Children's accuracy was most impaired following a cross-examination-style interview. Overall, cross-examination-style questioning appears to be particularly detrimental to obtaining accurate event reports from children.
交叉讯问式提问对儿童准确性的负面影响可能归因于访谈中复杂且具有可信度挑战的问题。然而，鉴于交叉讯问至少发生在一次先前的访谈之后，同样有可能是反复访谈本身损害了儿童的准确性，而所提出的问题对儿童的反应影响不大。为了检验这个问题，5 岁和 6 岁的儿童（n=82）和 9 岁和 10 岁的儿童（n=103）参加了一个惊喜事件，然后使用直接讯问的模拟进行访谈。一周或六个月后，一半的儿童接受了交叉讯问的模拟，以挑战他们对直接讯问的反应。其余的儿童接受了与直接讯问中相同的问题的再次访谈。无论年龄或延迟如何，儿童在第二次访谈后准确性都有所下降；然而，延迟尤其影响了年幼儿童的第二次访谈表现。在交叉讯问式访谈之后，儿童的准确性受到的影响最大。总的来说，交叉讯问式提问似乎特别不利于从儿童那里获得准确的事件报告。
