Biomaterial Database

Juror perceptions of child eyewitness testimony in a sexual abuse trial. 2007

Matthew J Holcomb, and Kristine M Jacquin

Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, USA.

A mock child sexual abuse trial was used to study juror perceptions of child eyewitnesses. The child's age (5, 11, or 16) and level of involvement (victim or bystander) were varied across conditions in order to test their impact on juror perceptions and verdict. Results indicated a significant effect of level of involvement on the verdict; defendants in trials involving a bystander witness received higher guilt ratings than defendants in trials with a victim-witness. In addition, jurors perceived the child's eyewitness testimony to be more believable when the child was younger. Implications for the impact of these findings on real-life child sexual abuse cases are discussed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008192	Deception	The act of deceiving or the fact of being deceived.	False Allegations,Lying,Hoax,Allegation, False,Allegations, False,False Allegation
D008297	Male		Males
D010565	Persuasive Communication	A mode of communication concerned with inducing or urging the adoption of certain beliefs, theories, or lines of action by others.	Persuasion,Communication, Persuasive
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002650	Child Abuse, Sexual	Sexual maltreatment of the child or minor.	Child Molestation,Child Molestation, Sexual,Molestation, Sexual, Child,Sexual Abuse of Child,Sexual Abuse, Child,Abuse, Child Sexual,Child Sexual Abuse,Molestation, Child,Sexual Child Abuse,Sexual Child Molestation
D002651	Child Advocacy	Promotion and protection of the rights of children; frequently through a legal process.	Advocacies, Child,Advocacy, Child,Child Advocacies
D003416	Criminal Law	A branch of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging and trial of suspected persons, and fixes the penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.	Criminal Justice,Criminal Laws,Justice, Criminal,Law, Criminal,Laws, Criminal
D005104	Expert Testimony	Presentation of pertinent data by one with special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject.	Expert Opinion,Expert Witness,Expert Opinions,Expert Testimonies,Expert Witnesses,Opinion, Expert,Testimony, Expert,Witness, Expert,Witnesses, Expert
D005260	Female		Females