Child Maltreatment, Trauma-Related Psychopathology, and Eyewitness Memory in Children and Adolescents

Two experiments were conducted to examine eyewitness memory in children and adolescents (9- to 15-years-old) with and without known histories of maltreatment (e.g., physical abuse, exposure to domestic violence). In Experiment 1, participants (N=35) viewed a positive film clip depicting a congenial interaction between family members. In Experiment 2, participants (N=31) watched a negative film clip in which a family argument was shown. Younger age and higher levels of trauma-related psychopathology significantly predicted commission errors to direct questions when the positive family interaction had been viewed, but not when the negative family interaction had been shown. Maltreatment history was not a significant unique predictor of memory performance for the positive or negative film clip. Implications for a scientific understanding of the effects of child maltreatment on memory are discussed. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.