A thesis submitted as fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science [Psychology] at the University of Otago

This thesis reports the findings of a study of court transcripts of child and adult complainants of sexual assault who were cross-examined during questioning in court. The study's aim was to gain a better understand of the nature and impact of this process on both child and adult complainants of sexual assault. Cross-examination questioning differs significantly from that used during other parts of the investigation process, as it involves high rates of leading questions, and challenges to credibility. Furthermore, children appear to have significant difficulty responding to these questions. The study applied the same coding scheme to court transcripts in which child and adult complainants of sexual assault were questioned in court. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and sequential analysis were then used to answer three primary research questions. First, does the way in which sexual assault complainants are cross-examined differ as a function of complainant age? Second, do sexual assault complainants' responses to cross-examination differ as a function of age? Finally, which temporal and bi-directional relations are evident between lawyers' questions and complainants' responses? Findings suggest that cross-examining lawyers ask child and adult complainants of sexual assault a high proportion of very challenging questions. While defence lawyers do appear to make some concessions for child witnesses (e.g., by reducing the number of complex and credibility challenging questions asked), the proportions of these questions remain high for both age groups. Furthermore, adults do not appear to be immune to the negative effects of cross-examination on their testimony. While adults may be less likely than children to comply with leading questions and more likely to give clarification in response to closed and leading questions, their responses do provide reason for concern. For example, like children, adults show very low levels of seeking clarification and expression of uncertainty, even when questions are ambiguous, complex, or nonsensical. Most concerning, 100% of adult complainants in this study made at least one change to their earlier testimony under cross-examination. In fact, adults made just as many changes to their previous testimony as children. Many of these changes were made in response to credibility-challenging and leading questions. It is now imperative that laboratory research examines the effect of cross-examination style questioning on adults' accuracy, in an attempt to determine how this process might affect witnesses' ability to provide accurate details of their past experiences. Source: Author's abstract

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