RESUMO
Purpose: Interviews to obtain statements in judicial procedures need to be adapted to the witnesses' abilities to testify. Moreover, knowing the cognitive abilities involved in testifying provides relevant criteria to assess statement credibility. As age or intelligence quotient is not enough to estimate these capabilities, an instrument to evaluate witnesses' specific abilities to testify is needed. The present paper validates CAPALIST, a procedure that considers relevant capabilities when assessing the testimony given by children. Methods: This study analyzed, by means of an invariant measurement approach (Rasch model), four scales included in CAPALIST: language, memory, contextual information, and social thinking. In addition, gender and age differences were analyzed in 83 children [45 males and 38 females; M age = 4.3 years, SD = 0.74, range (3.06-5.11)] from three courses in early childhood education. Results: The four scales do not severely violate the requirements of the model. The principal component analysis of the residuals indicates that the four scales are one dimensional and that the assumption of local independence was not violated. Differential item functioning of the scales associated with gender was not detected. A significant effect of the school year was obtained, with an increase in ability in successive courses. The percentage of children who presented severe misfit responses with the model was low. In addition, the number of items with a severe misfit was also low. Conclusion: An acceptable performance of CAPALIST is demonstrated for most of the scales, although items with a severe misfit must be replaced, and more difficult items have to be included in some scales of the revised version of the instrument. CAPALIST is a promising procedure to assess the abilities of children to testify in order to adapt interviews and to evaluate their statements correctly.
RESUMO
La prueba testifical de menores de corta edad es, en muchos casos, la principal y única prueba indiciaria en los procesos penales. La memoria y el lenguaje son dos de los principales componentes en la declaración del menor que requieren un especial análisis, no sólo por el importante papel que juegan, sino también por la relación existente entre ambas capacidades. La vulnerabilidad de la memoria y su posibilidad de ser alterada mediante sugerencias, así como la variabilidad del desarrollo del lenguaje en el menor de 3 a 6 años edad, son dos factores de influencia en la recogida del testimonio. Estos factores, junto con la pericia del entrevistador en la adaptación de la entrevista al menor al que va dirigida podrán conseguir una recogida de información fiable y libre de subjetividades que facilitarán la investigación de los hechos denunciados. El presente artículo presenta una visión conjunta de ambas capacidades desde la perspectiva del testimonio infantil en el proceso penal
The testimony of pre-school children is, in many cases, the main and only circumstantial evidence in criminal proceedings. Memory and language are two main components in the statement of the child and they require special analysis, not only because of the important role they play, but also because of the relationship between the two capacities. The vulnerability of memory and its ability to be altered by suggestions, as well as the variability of language development in the 3- to 6-year-old child, are two factors that influence the collection of testimony. These factors, together with the interviewers skill in adapting the interview to the child, may obtain reliable information that is free of subjectivity and that will facilitate the investigation of the allegations. This article presents an overview of both capabilities, language and memory, from the perspective of child witness testimony as evidence in criminal proceedings
