Work

Lay perceptions of child witnesses: effects of presentation of rapport building in forensic interviews

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Rapport building is an important component of forensic interviews with children, especially about alleged sexual abuse. Because interviews are presented as evidence in trials, an important consideration is whether seeing interview rapport affects juror perceptions. We addressed this by examining how rapport, child age and participants’ gender affect perceptions of a child witness and defendant guilt. Participants (N=478, M=36.6 years, SD=12.3, 47% female), recruited via Prolific, read a forensic interview transcript of a child's disclosing sexual abuse that varied interviewer rapport (high, moderate, minimal) and child age (5, 9, 13 years). Participants in the high rapport condition rated the child as more credible and felt more positively about the interviewer, and the 5-year-old was perceived most favourably. Overall, positive effects of rapport building extend beyond their influence on children’s accounts. Presenting rapport building to jurors may help bolster a child's credibility, though other factors (e.g., child age) remain important.

Source: Psychiatry Psychology and Law

DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2025.2583089

Authors: Emma Simpson, Rachel E. Dianiska, Sarah C. Kim, Jodi A. Quas

Language: English

Topic: Deception detection and forensic psychology

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Testing the Value of Rapport Building to Enhance Adolescent Disclosures in Online and In-Person Interviews, G6159140076, STRESS, MEMORY, AND RUMINATION IN MALTREATED ADOLESCENTS