Effects of caregiver support and interviewer attitude on the accuracy of children's memory according to anxiety level.

This study investigated the effects of parental support and interviewer attitude on children's free recall of and resistance to suggestive information based on their anxiety level. Ninety children aged 5–8 years were randomly assigned to conditions with or without parental and interviewer support. The results showed that the group with interviewer and parental support exhibited greater free recall and fewer false responses than the group without such support. The impact of parental support depended on the presence or absence of interviewer support and the child's anxiety level. Specifically, for children with lower anxiety levels, free recall was higher when interviewer support was provided (with or without parental support). For children with higher anxiety, parental support was beneficial only when interviewer support was provided. These findings indicated that interviewer and parental support may be particularly important during investigative interviews with children who display high levels of anxiety. The findings offer a foundation for experts in the field who oversee investigative interviews with children, appearing to increase in number annually, and can also provide useful insights for legal experts and field practitioners who review children's statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]