Family Law

Helen L Westcott, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research, The Open University. This article presents an overview of current issues in psychological research and practice relating to child witnesses, including an appraisal of factors relating to children's testimony, adult interviewing practice and the questioning environment. The article discusses factors that can enhance or impede children's evidence, and summarises recent research on suggestibility, individual differences and source-monitoring. It also highlights a number of gaps in the child witness literature, and finally, suggests topics for further debate and research by psychologists and lawyers. See Child and Family Law Quarterly, Vol 18, No 2, 2006 for the full article.