Interview and child factors that influence children’s true disclosures of a parent’s versus a stranger’s wrongdoing

Abstract

115, 6–9-year-olds (M age = 7.47 years) participated in a scripted event during which the child’s mother or a stranger broke a forbidden puppet and requested secrecy. Then, children were either (1) primed for the goal of honesty (prime), (2) asked to promise to tell the truth (oath), or (3) given no instructions (control) before responding to open-ended, direct, and suggestive questions about their own and the transgressor’s behavior. Children who had greater trust in their parents were more protective of the transgressor, disclosing later in the interview and providing fewer honest responses to direct and suggestive questions. Children were more honest in response to the suggestive than direct questions, especially when their mother had transgressed. Neither the prime nor the oath significantly promoted children’s honesty. Results advance our understanding of interview and child factors that influence children’s disclosures of transgressions committed by parents versus unfamiliar adults.