Children recalling an event repeatedly: Effects on RM and CBCA scores

Purpose. The fact that abused children often talk about their experiences before entering the legal system is a neglected factor in terms of the validation of different reliability assessment techniques. Hence, the present study investigated the extent to which the scores of the reality monitoring technique (RM) and the criteria‐based content analysis technique (CBCA) were affected by the number of times children recalled an experienced or an imagined event. Method. Children (aged 12–13 years, N – 80) participated in an experiment where half the sample experienced a real event (an interaction with a stranger outside his car) and then recalled it either one or four times (over a period of 14 days), and the other half imagined the same event and thereafter recalled it either one or four times. The statements given at the final (or only) recall session were analysed with both CBCA and RM. Results. The results revealed that, on a multivariate level, both the CBCA and RM sets of criteria discriminated between truthful and fabricated statements. The total RM score (but not the total CBCA score) discriminated reliably between truthful and fabricated statements. Furthermore, RM (but not CBCA) were sensitive to the number of times the experienced or imagined event was recalled: increased presence of criteria after repeated recall. Conclusions. The results were rather promising for the RM and less so for the CBCA. Furthermore, we found that the number of recalls moderated the effectiveness of the techniques. Hence, when assessing the reliability of a child's memory, it is crucial to learn about the history of the first documented statement.