Protecting children from kidnappers is an upmost issue for society. The goal of this study was to examine which cognitive functions are related to children's ability to detect danger and protect themselves from crimes such as kidnapping. In Experiment 1, preschoolers were shown a series of stories in which a child was asked to come, for various reasons with either a stranger or a familiar person. The urgency level of the story was also varied, from high to low. Results showed that there was a significant difference between four-year olds and five-year olds. The four-year olds could not detect the stranger's evil intention and made decision on the basis of the urgency, and hence were unable to avoid the risk of being kidnapped. In contrast, five-year olds inferred the stranger's intention and were able to avoid the risk. The age difference can be attributed to a qualitative developmental difference in children's cognitive functions, including meta-cognition, display rules, and planning ability. In Experiment 2, we attempted to teach children how they should behave to avoid the risk of being kidnapped. Results indicated that when they were taught carefully, even four-year olds could understand why they should not follow a stranger. In designing a prevention program to teach young children how to avoid risks in everyday life, it is important to provide instructions that are suitable for children's cognitive level.

View full abstract

This study examined the development of strategies which children use between five and eight years of age, when faced with a dilemma of exhibiting prosocial behavior or avoiding a dangerous stranger. Participants were 85 children who were individually shown stories depicting a situation in which they were asked for help by a stranger. Results showed that children of both age groups (five- and seven-year olds) gave priority to danger avoidance. However, they were vulnerable to approaches made by strangers when the stranger's request was consistent with the child's desire. In addition, a positivity bias among young children formed the basis for their compliance with the stranger's request. These results have implications for the safety education of children in the transitional period between preschool and elementary school.

View full abstract

This study explored the development of children's ability to cope with so-called stranger danger situations. Participants were 4- and 5-year old preschoolers and 6- and 7-year old school children (N=166). They were each shown four picture-stories of children in encounters with familiar and unfamiliar adults. After each story was presented, participants were asked what they would do if they were the child in the story, and why. Responses to the questions were analyzed, and the results indicated that 4- and 5-year old preschoolers were still vulnerable to dangers posed by strangers, although some of them showed wariness and understanding of the danger. In addition, 6- and 7-year old school children understood the potential dangers posed by strangers and knew how to avoid them. These findings are discussed in relation to prevention programs for preschoolers and school children.

View full abstract

This study investigated whether the phenomenon of verbal overshadowing (Schooler & Engstler-Schooler, 1990) was observable in the accuracy of facial recognition by young children. Children ages 3-6 years (18 boys and 19 girls, M=5:4) watched a live event in which a female storyteller and a male assistant performed a picture-story show. Approximately 24 hours after witnessing the event, the children were asked to recall what the event was like and were given facial identification tests for the two targets, under either description or control conditions. In the description condition, participants gave a verbal description of features of the face and hairstyle preceding the facial identification tests. The data showed that children in the description condition tended to be less accurate in facial recognition and that their descriptions of the person were uninformative. These results are discussed in relation to cognitive processes underlying the verbal-overshadowing effect and practical issues related to eyewitness testimony by young children.

View full abstract

How do parents' concerns about the safety of their children change as children grow up? Ten mothers were interviewed longitudinally from their period of pregnancy through their children's early elementary school years. Narratives from the interview were analyzed. In Analysis 1, narrative themes were first identified. We then explored how mothers think about their children as victims or offenders, and how the mothers bring reality to their concerns over time. In Analysis 2, each narrative was analyzed qualitatively. The results showed that mothers focused on criminal incidents from their period of pregnancy through the child's first year of life, as well as on accidents, peer conflicts, and sibling conflicts from ages 1-5 years, and on criminal incidents again in the early elementary school years. These results also showed that narratives about incidents for school age children were different from those for the prenatal period. Finally, the discussion focused on the hardness of children in their transition to elementary school.

View full abstract

Feelings and emotions are essential elements of an event, even in a forensic context. The aim of this study was to explore how children come with age to describe feelings in situations that are relevant to child protection and child safety. A total of 127 children, ages 3-12 years, were presented with depictions of scenes in which dolls underwent difficulties such as being bullied, left alone, scolded unfairly, etc. Children were then asked to describe the doll's feelings. Although one-third of preschoolers' responses were "don't know," children became able with age to describe feelings in terms of internal states, mentioning behavior (He is in trouble) and intentions (He wants to get out of trouble), and by asking questions (Why was he caught in trouble?) Expressions of negative emotions (sad, unhappy) were more diverse compared to expressions of positive feelings (happy, fun), in accordance with previous research. Limitations of possible applications of the results to forensic investigative interviews were discussed.

View full abstract

This research reports the development and evaluation of a Crime Anxiety Scale and Crime Prevention Consciousness Scale, which were considered to be useful for crime prevention education in elementary school. School children in four elementary schools in Iwate Prefecture and three schools in Tokyo participated in the study (N=1292; 662 boys and 630 girls; 4th to 6th grades). The 30-item school child version of the Crime Anxiety Scale was developed by item analysis and factor analysis. It consisted of three subscales: "anxiety about suspicious people," "anxiety when going outdoors," and "anxiety about crime situations." Next, a 30-item Crime Prevention Consciousness of School Cchildren Scale was developed. It consisted of 6 subscales: "risk aversion," "crime prevention counter-measures when outdoors," "crime prevention countermeasures at home," "communication," "carelessness" and "attention." A study using the scales indicated the following. First, the level of crime anxiety and crime prevention consciousness of girls was higher than among boys. In addition, as the school grade increased these levels of anxiety and consciousness became significantly lower. Second, there were correlations between levels of crime anxiety and crime prevention consciousness. Path analysis suggested that for boys a general rise in level of crime anxiety led to a raise in crime prevention consciousness, such as observation of one's surroundings. However, among girls only high crime anxiety when they went outdoors was connected with increased crime prevention consciousness.

View full abstract

This research analyzed the immediate reactions of 315 children (176 boys, 136 girls; 166 first-born) aged 0-16 years (mean=6.1, SD=2.4) to a major earthquake in January 1995 that killed more than 6,400 people. It examined children's ability to avoid hazards from sudden natural disasters. The earthquake onset was at 5:46 AM; 75.2% of the children were reportedly asleep in the same room with their parent(s) at the moment and 10.5% were alone. Parents were surprised by the earthquake, but many children's reactions were much weaker. About 30% of them reported little or no surprise, and even slept through the moment. Younger children had less of a reaction, and a frightened reaction was more notable after 7 years of age. Parents' typical reaction was to make bodily contact by embracing or lying over their children, and many grasped the hands of older children. The reactions of the children and parents were interpreted as developmental indicators of children's autonomous coping and Kowakare (mother-offspring mutual autonomy).

View full abstract

Safety of children from crime has become an urgent need in Japanese society. In particular, criminal acts against elementary school children have increased. Therefore, police and regional authorities are taking various measures and safety education is now starting to be promoted in schools and at home. However, data are lacking on the characteristics or tendencies of children, e.g., how they recognize an uncomfortable feeling or assess risks from strangers, how they react when they encounter an unexpected scene of pre-criminal or criminal acts, and when they believe urgent action is required. Given that we have little information on whether or not there are developmental or sex differences in recognition of crises, safety education research has begun to be disseminated. The present research focused on the behavioral characteristics of children in emergencies, including recognition of strangers and crisis escape strategies. The main emphasis was on what makes children uncomfortable and how they understand a crisis. New directions for safety education are suggested by the present data.

View full abstract