Effects of past abuse experiences on children's eyewitness memory

Relations between child maltreatment and children's eyewitness memory were examined. A matched sample of abused and nonabused 3- to 10-year-old childr en (n = 70) participated ill a play session with an unfamiliar adult and we re interviewed about the interaction 2 weeks later Consistent with results from previous research, older compared to younger children's reports were m ore complete and accurate. Abused and nonabused children performed similarl y with several exceptions: Nonabused children were more accurate in answeri ng specific questions, made fewer errors in identifying the unfamiliar adul t in a photo identification task and (at least for younger boys) freely rec alled more information. Most effects remained when group differences in re and behavioral symptomology were statistically controlled Importantly, abus ed and nonabused children did not differ in their accuracy or suggestibilit y in response to questions that were relevant to abusive actions. Among abu sed children, however those who suffered more severe sexual abuse made move omission errors to specific abuse-relevant questions. Contributions to psy chological theory and legal implications for understanding children's eyewi tness memory and testimony are discussed.