A national study into temperament as a critical susceptibility factor for reported false confessions amongst adolescents

Abstract

This study investigates the extent to which hyperactivity and anxiety predicts susceptibility to false confessions compared with inattention and anti-social behavioural tendencies. The sample was comprised of 11,388 young people – 5439 males and 5837 females - in further education, split into three age groups: 14–16, 17–19 and 20–24years of age. Ordinal logistic regression models show hyperactivity to be a significant predictor of reported false confessions across age. Whilst latent inattention is a significant predictor in the youngest group (aged 14–16), that effect diminishes significantly in the older age groups. Latent anxiety seems not to exert a significant effect across age. Antisocial behaviour (ASB) however does seems to exert a significant effect on false confessions across age. Given that recklessness and impulsivity are facets of conduct disorder, it may be the recklessness and impulsive component of ASB that is most relevant in predicting false confessions across age. Latent hyperactivity may therefore be the critical susceptibility factor for false confessions across adolescence. Such a finding is novel, and raises significant questions about the potential vulnerability of adolescents scoring high on hyperactivity when questioned by police.