Suggestibility in Children: Clinical and Forensic Considerations

1 Hour | 1 CE

This on-demand professional training program on Suggestibility in Children: Clinical and Forensic Considerations is presented by Jerrod Brown, PhD.

Although suggestibility may occur at any age, children may be particularly vulnerable depending on the environment and a host of social, emotional, and psychological variables. This risk is due to cognitive factors (e.g., memory and attentional capacity) and social factors (e.g., psychosocial immaturity and avoidance coping styles) that are heavily influenced by human development. As such, the likelihood of suggestibility substantially decreases as a child advances into adolescence and adulthood. Beyond these cognitive and social factors, suggestibility is also influenced by situational factors, including leading and repetitive questions and the presentation of false information. Such situational features are commonplace in clinical and forensic settings (e.g., police interrogations and trials), which raises concerns that children may be prone to memory disturbances with harmful legal consequences (e.g., false confessions and wrongful convictions). This program is designed to help assist professionals in clinical and forensic settings to decrease the likelihood of suggestibility among children. Topics addressed include defining suggestibility, discussing the developmental needs of children, identifying tactics to maximize the accuracy of memories, and reviewing the needs of future research.