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Article
Suggestive interviewing in the McMartin Preschool and Kelly Michaels daycare abuse cases: A case study
Social Influence (2006)
  • Nadja Schreiber, Florida International University
  • Lisa D. Bellah, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Yolanda Martinez, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Kristin A. McLaurin, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Renata Strok, University of Texas at El Paso
  • Sena Garven, University of Texas at El Paso
  • James M. Wood, University of Texas at El Paso
Abstract
In the 1980s and early 1990s the United States witnessed an outbreak of bizarre "daycare abuse" cases in which groups of young children leveled allegations of sexual and Satanic abuse against their teachers. In the present study, quantitative analyses were performed on interview transcripts from two highly publicized daycare cases (McMartin Preschool and Kelly Michaels) and a Child Protection Service (CPS). Confirming the impression of prior commentators, systematic analyses of 54 interviews indicated that suggestive techniques were much more common in the McMartin and Michaels interviews than in the CPS interviews.
Keywords
  • suggestibility; children; developmental; interviewing; sexual abuse; McMartin Preschool; satanic abuse; reinforcement; kelly michaels;
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Citation Information
Nadja Schreiber, Lisa D. Bellah, Yolanda Martinez, Kristin A. McLaurin, et al.. "Suggestive interviewing in the McMartin Preschool and Kelly Michaels daycare abuse cases: A case study" Social Influence (2006)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/james_wood/16/