Citation

Miles KL, Powell MB, Gignac GE, Thomson DM. Leg. Crim. Psychol. 2007; 12(2): 217-232.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, British Psychological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1348/135532506X116750

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Purpose. This study explored the effectiveness of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale for Children, version 2 in predicting the tendency of older school-aged children (with and without intellectual disabilities) to generate errors in an independent suggestibility paradigm.Method. Sixty-nine children with an intellectual disability (aged 9-14 years) and 50 mainstream children matched for chronological age participated in a 30-minute magic show that was staged at their school. Three days later, the children participated in a separate biasing interview that provided seven true and seven false details about the magic show. The following day, the children participated in a second interview where they were required to recall the magic show in their own words and answer a series of cued-recall questions. Between 1 and 2 weeks later, the children were administered the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale-2 (GSS-2).Results. While there was no significant association between performance on the GSS-2 and the independent suggestibility paradigm for the children with an intellectual disability, the chronological age-matched children's yield scores predicted their reporting of both false-new details and false-interviewer suggestions for the independent event.Conclusion. When predicting children's recall of false details, the GSS-2 appears to be more useful with mainstream school-aged children compared with children who have an intellectual disability.

Language: en