In a criminal proceeding, a witness is considered reliable if he/she can provide a coherent narrative of the events. The present study aimed to confirm the effects of age, PTSD, and questioning style on narrative coherence. 82 trial depositions of children (M = 9.9 years) were analyzed, coding through the Narrative Coherence Coding Scheme. The analyses revealed a positive correlation between narrative coherence and age, and a negative correlation between age and post-traumatic symptomatology. Open-ended questions were negatively associated with coherence; instead close-ended/option-posing questions and free invitations were positively associated with coherence. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.
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Miragoli et al. (2024) studied this question.
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