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competence, interrogation & confessions
The operative claimJuveniles are over-represented among proven false confessions, and adolescents are at elevated risk of false confession relative to adults — a dispositional vulnerability (immaturity of judgment, suggestibility, and compliance with authority) that interacts with situational interrogation pressure. The claim concerns the composition of known and proven cases and comparative risk, not a known absolute rate among all juvenile confessions.
There is general acceptance among confession researchers — quantified at roughly 80% or higher agreement in expert surveys — that youth is a risk factor for false confession and that juveniles are over-represented among proven false confessions. What is debated is the magnitude and the true (unknowable) base rate, not the direction of the effect.
Grounded in proven/exoneration case samples (where the confession is established as false) and in juvenile-versus-adult comparisons from experiments and surveys. It is a dispositional-by-situational account: youth raises baseline vulnerability, which interacts with interrogation tactics (length, false-evidence ploy, minimization). It describes group-level composition and comparative risk, not the truth of any individual confession, and not an absolute population base rate — the denominator of all juvenile confessions is unknown and likely unknowable.
Drizin, S. A., & Leo, R. A (2004). The problem of false confessions in the post-DNA world. North Carolina Law Review, 82, 891-1007.
Observational · N = 125 · proven false-confession cases (incl. juveniles)
Archival analysis of 125 proven interrogation-induced false confessions (1971-2002), the largest such cohort then studied. Juveniles (<18) were over-represented at ~33% of the sample — 40 of 125 false confessors, 22 of them aged 15 or younger (82 N.C. L. Rev. at 944) — and the authors characterize juveniles as more ready to confess under interrogation, especially coercive interrogation (id. at 924). Over-representation is WITHIN the proven/known set; it is not a population base rate.
Bearing on this claim: Archival analysis of 125 proven false confessions: juveniles substantially over-represented among documented wrongful-conviction confessions.
View sourceKassin, S. M., Drizin, S. A., Grisso, T., Gudjonsson, G. H., Leo, R. A., & Redlich, A. D (2010). Police-induced confessions: Risk factors and recommendations. Law and Human Behavior, 34(1), 3-38.
Review · research synthesis
Authoritative scientific synthesis identifying youth as an established dispositional risk factor for false confession that interacts with situational interrogation tactics (lengthy interrogation, false-evidence ploys, minimization).
Bearing on this claim: AP-LS scientific white paper: youth is an established dispositional risk factor for false confession that interacts with situational interrogation tactics.
doi.org/10.1007/s10979-009-9188-6Redlich, A. D., & Goodman, G. S (2003). Taking responsibility for an act not committed: The influence of age and suggestibility. Law and Human Behavior, 27(2), 141-156.
Experimental · 12-13, 15-16, young adults
In a controlled paradigm, younger and more suggestible participants were more likely than older, less suggestible ones to falsely take responsibility for an act they did not commit, especially when shown false evidence.
Bearing on this claim: Experimental: younger and more suggestible participants more likely to falsely take responsibility, especially when shown false evidence (age x suggestibility).
doi.org/10.1023/A:1022543012851Owen-Kostelnik, J., Reppucci, N. D., & Meyer, J. R (2006). Testimony and interrogation of minors: Assumptions about maturity and morality. American Psychologist, 61(4), 286-304.
Review
Reviews developmental research showing youth heightens suggestibility and compliance and argues that interrogation techniques designed for adults are especially problematic when used with minors.
Bearing on this claim: Developmental review of why youth heightens suggestibility and compliance, and why adult interrogation tactics are hazardous with minors.
doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.286National Registry of Exonerations. National Registry of Exonerations -- false confessions among exonerees, by age. National Registry of Exonerations (University of California Irvine / University of Michigan / Michigan State University).
Observational · exonerees (juvenile and adult)
Across documented U.S. exonerations, roughly 12% of exonerees had given a false confession, with juveniles markedly elevated relative to adults — real-world corroboration of disproportionate juvenile false confession. (Figures to confirm against the current dataset at sign-off.)
Bearing on this claim: Exoneration dataset: roughly 12% of exonerees gave false confessions, with juveniles markedly elevated relative to adults (real-world corroboration).
View sourceKassin, S. M., Redlich, A. D., Alceste, F., & Luke, T. J (2018). On the general acceptance of confessions research: Opinions of the scientific community. American Psychologist, 73(1), 63-80.
Observational · N = 87 · expert survey (n=87)
Expert-opinion survey quantifying general acceptance: at least 80% agreement among confession researchers on key propositions, including that youth elevates false-confession risk — supplying a Daubert/Frye general-acceptance metric.
Bearing on this claim: Expert survey (n=87): at least 80% agreement among confession researchers, quantifying general acceptance that youth elevates false-confession risk (Daubert/Frye).
doi.org/10.1037/amp0000141Mogavero, M. C (2020). An exploratory examination of intellectual disability and mental illness associated with alleged false confessions. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 38(4), 299-316.
Observational · N = 2,378 · exonerees (juvenile and adult)
Analysis of National Registry of Exonerations felony data (~2,378 cases); ~12% of exonerees gave false confessions; likelihood of false confession elevated among juveniles, those with mental illness, and those with intellectual disability. Peer-reviewed corroboration of the National Registry report row.
Bearing on this claim: Peer-reviewed analysis of National Registry felony exoneration data (~2,378 cases): false confession more likely among juveniles, those with mental illness, and those with intellectual disability — corroborates the registry figure and the youth/co-occurring-vulnerability caution in guardrail #3.
doi.org/10.1002/bsl.24637 supporting verified sources
The central over-representation finding is drawn from proven/known false confessions and exonerations, so the true base rate among all juvenile confessions cannot be computed — the denominator is unknown. Experimental paradigms that establish causation trade ecological validity for control (low-stakes acts cannot ethically replicate real interrogations). Youth co-occurs with intellectual disability, mental illness, and ADHD, which independently raise risk, so age's separate contribution must not be overstated. Samples are largely U.S.-based, and exoneration datasets reflect cases that were discovered and overturned, not a random sample.
Last reviewed June 20, 2026