Examining the Role of Interrogative Suggestibility in Miranda Rights Comprehension in Adolescents

This study aimed to further clarify the association between interrogative suggestibility and Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents; in particular, we examined whether intellectual ability (IQ) serves as a mediator of this relationship. Participants completed Grisso’s Miranda Instruments, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Many youth demonstrated poor comprehension of their rights, particularly younger and less intellectually capable adolescents. Both yield and shift components of interrogative suggestibility were inversely related to rights comprehension; however, IQ fully mediated these relationships. Neither demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status after controlling for IQ, and English as a second language (ESL) status) nor previous police experience were significantly associated with rights comprehension in the present sample. The implications of these findings are discussed.