The younger, the more susceptible to suggestion: A meta-analysis of age-related differences between children and adults

This meta-analysis examined age differences in suggestibility by comparing children and adolescents to adults across multiple experimental studies. A total of 12 studies published between 1980 and2022 were included, encompassing a combined sample of 1,938 participants. Children’s age ranged from 5 to 15 years. All adults were 18 years of age or older. Due to missing information in some of the studies, the proportions of gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status were not calculated. Effect size estimates indicated that children were significantly more susceptible to suggestive influences than adults. Moderator analyses suggested that suggestibility decreased gradually with age and increased with the number of suggested items used in the experiment. These findings have implications for legal, clinical, and educational contexts in which memory reliability is assessed, especially when working with children. The analysis highlights the importance of age-appropriate methods and awareness of developmental vulnerabilities in suggestibility.