The Effect of Rapport Building and Putative Confessions Upon Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children’s Disclosure of a Minor Transgression

Abstract

This study examined the effects of rapport-building (open-ended narrative practice vs. closed-ended questioning) and a putative confession (telling the child that an adult “told me everything that happened and he wants you to tell the truth”) on 4- to 9-year-old maltreated and comparable non-maltreated children’s reports of a minor transgression (N = 264). An adult engaged each child in play with a series of toys, two of which appeared to break in the child’s hands. The adult warned the child that they should not have played with half the toys, including the broken toys, and asked the child to keep that play a secret. Children were questioned following either open-ended narrative practice or closed-ended questioning using free recall and yes-no questions. Open-ended narrative practice increased children’s productivity but did not affect the likelihood that they disclosed breakage. Putative confessions increased children’s disclosure of breakage. Neither age nor maltreatment affected the results. The implications of the findings for questioning children about transgressions are discussed.