Interviewing former 1- and 2-year olds about medical emergencies 5 years later.
Five years earlier, 1- and 2-year-old children who had been injured seriously enough to require hospital ER treatment had been recruited from the ER. For this study, as many of these children as could be found participated. The majority of former 1-year olds recalled nothing about these highly stressful events, whereas most former 2-year olds recalled a great deal. For those former 1-year olds who did recall the target events, quality of recall was problematic. In particular, they made considerable source confusions or intrusions into their accounts of details from other related events, producing an account that amalgamated various events into one recollection. Forensic implications are discussed.
Peterson
Carole
C
Psychology Department, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1B 3X9. carole@mun.ca
Parsons
Brenda
B
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall