The relationship between within-interview contradictions and eliciting interviewer utterances

Forensic Interview Techniques in Child Sexual Abuse Cases: A Scoping Review

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is widely recognized as a global public health problem with negative consequences for victims, their families, and society. The child's testimony is essential to the case outcome, given the frequent absence of physical or biological evidence of the abusive acts. Thus, the child forensic interview plays a decisive role in criminal investigation. The present scoping review aims to identify and describe the judicial procedures for collecting CSA victims' testimony using an evidence-based approach and a structured methodology. The review followed Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis-Scoping Review guidelines. Studies were identified through manual reference checking and in four electronic databases: PsycARTICLES, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science. In all, 146 studies were identified according to the defined inclusion criteria, that is, empirical studies identifying judicial procedures to collect CSA victims' testimony, published in English or Portuguese. In total, 30 different forensic interview procedures to collect the child victim's testimony were found. The National Institute for Child Health and Human Development investigative interview protocol was the most frequently mentioned. Despite the variety of protocols, it was possible to conclude that they have a similar general structure. This review also identified gaps in interviewing practices with CSA victims. The scoping review corroborates the importance of forensic interviews with CSA victims, stating its implications for criminal investigation, the legal system, and the child's recovery process.

Linguistically complex recognition prompts in pre-recorded cross-examinations

This study examined the effects of pre-trial preparation and pre-recorded cross-examinations on the linguistic complexity of recognition prompts (i.e., option-posing or suggestive questions) used when questioning child victims in English criminal courts. The study also compared the linguistic complexity of recognition prompts that did and did not contain suggestive content. Analyses compared 43 cases that involved pre-recorded cross-examinations with pre-trial preparation and 44 cases that did not, which occurred between 2012 and 2016. Cases utilizing the "special measures" contained fewer linguistically complex prompts with and without suggestive content than did their counterparts, demonstrating the benefits of those special measures. Overall, linguistically complex recognition prompts were more likely to contain suggestive content than other recognition prompts. However, linguistically complex prompts with and without suggestive content were still frequently used despite the special measures, demonstrating the need for further professional training to improve the quality of children's evidence.

Burnout and secondary trauma among forensic interviewers

Child Advocacy Centers provide a child-friendly environment for the forensic interview and subsequent investigation of child victimization cases. However, very little research has examined the effects of burnout, secondary trauma and organizational stressors on forensic interviewers. The present study examined the following research questions. To what extent do forensic interviewers experience burnout and secondary trauma associated with their profession? How do organizational stressors increase these outcomes among interviewers? Data were collected by conducting an online survey of interviewers working at Child Advocacy Centers across the United States. Results indicate burnout and secondary trauma among interviewers in this sample. Decreased job support, increased funding constraints and heavy agency caseloads all result in burnout and secondary trauma. Policy recommendations include continued training and mental health services for interviewers. Future researchers should conduct qualitative interviews and examine how other factors, such as forensic interviewing protocols, influence interviewers' job experience and mental health.

Interviews of Children in a Portuguese Special Judicial Procedure

Since 2007, alleged victims of child sexual abuse in Portugal have provided evidence in a mandatory "Declarações para Memória Futura" (DMF; English transl. 'Statement for future use') proceeding. In order to protect children from having to testify in court, interviews conducted at the DMF can be used later as trial evidence because the hearings are conducted by judges. The present study examined 137 interviews with 3- to 17-year-olds conducted in several Portuguese criminal courts. Detailed examination of interview transcripts showed that 69% of all questions asked were option-posing questions, 16% were directive questions, 11% were suggestive questions, and only 3% were open-ended prompts. The vast majority of details provided by children were thus obtained using the risky recognition-based prompts (i.e., option posing and suggestive questions) associated with the risks of contaminating and limiting children's informativeness, both potential threats to the credibility of their testimony. There is an urgent need to address this issue and consider the implementation of a scientifically validated structured interview protocol in Portugal. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Children's use of sexual body part terms in witness interviews about sexual abuse

For successful prosecution, investigative interviews with child sexual abuse victims need to establish the nature of the alleged offence by determining the body parts that were involved. To date, however, there has been a paucity of research on the extent to which children clearly identify sexual body parts in interviews and how they respond to interviewers' attempts to clarify ambiguous terms. The present study sought to explore children's use of sexual body part terms in field interviews, and their responses to questions aimed at clarifying ambiguous terms. Analyses were conducted on 161 transcripts of field interviews with children aged 4-17 years old, coding for the content of interviewers' questions and of children's responses. Results revealed that many children, even some in their late teens, struggled to provide clear terms for their sexual body parts, either initially, or when asked to provide an alternate term. Questions about body part location or function tended to elicit content appropriate responses in children, irrespective of age. The study discusses the capacity (or willingness) of children to provide clear body part terms in witness interviews and the utility of particular questions. The findings imply a need for caution when following up on the meaning of terms or asking particular clarifying questions, and highlight the importance of childhood education around body parts.

The structural linguistic complexity of lawyers' questions and children's responses in Scottish criminal courts

In the first study to systematically assess the structural linguistic complexity of lawyers' questions of children in Scotland, we examined 56 trial transcripts of 5- to 17-year-old children testifying as alleged victims of sexual abuse. Complexity was assessed using 8 quantitative measures of each utterance's components (number of questions, phrases, clauses, sentences, false starts, average word count, word length, and sentence length) and a composite measure was used in the analyses. Lawyers did not alter the complexity of questions when prompting children of different ages. Defense lawyers asked more structurally complex questions than prosecutors. Directive questions were the least structurally complex questions, followed by option-posing questions. Suggestive questions, followed by invitations, were the most structurally complex questions. Option-posing and suggestive questions were more complex when asked by defense lawyers than prosecutors. Of suggestive questions, confrontation and tagged questions were more complex than any other question type. Increased structural complexity led to more unresponsiveness, more expressions of uncertainty, and more self-contradictions regardless of which lawyer asked, the question type, or the children's ages. These findings highlight the additional risks associated with asking some types of questions in structurally complex ways and highlight the need for further innovations (e.g., the use of intermediaries) to facilitate the questioning of vulnerable witnesses in Scottish criminal courts.

Impact of Repeated Questioning on Interviewers: Learning From a Forensic Interview Training Project

Forensic interviewers have a difficult job with high risk for career burnout and secondary trauma. Few studies have addressed how new forensic interviewers or trainees experience repeated questioning and multiple interviews. This study simulated the process of training new forensic interviewers through the creation of two interview videos in which social work graduate students participated as actors portraying the roles of interviewer and child. These films served as instructional aids preparing graduate social work students for professional child welfare roles while promoting research-based approaches to interviewing children about sexual abuse allegations. Qualitative data from two cohorts of student actors were collected to analyze interviewers' perspectives on repeated questioning and interviews in child sexual abuse cases. Two themes were extracted from the subjects' experiences: "It is emotionally taxing" and "Navigating the interviewer role is unexpectedly complex." Exposure to repeated questions and multiple interviews affected the performance and confidence of the interviewers.

The fallibility of memory in judicial processes: lessons from the past and their modern consequences

The capability of adult and child witnesses to accurately recollect events from the past and provide reliable testimony has been hotly debated for more than 100 years. Prominent legal cases of the 1980s and 1990s sparked lengthy debates and important research questions surrounding the fallibility and general reliability of memory. But what lessons have we learned, some 35 years later, about the role of memory in the judicial system? In this review, we focus on what we now know about the consequences of the fallibility of memory for legal proceedings. We present a brief historical overview of false memories that focuses on three critical forensic areas that changed memory research: children as eyewitnesses, historic sexual abuse and eyewitness (mis)identification. We revisit some of the prominent trials of the 1980s and 1990s to not only consider the role false memories have played in judicial decisions, but also to see how this has helped us understand memory today. Finally, we consider the way in which the research on memory (true and false) has been successfully integrated into some courtroom procedures.

Drawing helps children to talk about their presenting problems during a mental health assessment

When children require mental health services, clinicians need to conduct assessments that are developmentally sensitive and that include the child's point of view. Drawing is a popular tool that is commonly used in clinical settings. Research on drawing in experimental settings has confirmed that the opportunity to draw while talking increases the amount of verbal information that children report during an interview. The present research examined whether drawing also facilitates children's self reports during a mental health assessment. A total of 33 5-12-year-old children were asked either to draw and tell about their presenting problem or to tell only. Children who drew and told provided twice as much verbal information as children who told only. Further, interviewers in the draw and tell condition used a greater number of minimal responses than did interviewers in the tell only condition. These data have important implications for clinical practice.

The role of repeated interviewing in children's responses to cross-examination-style questioning

The negative effect of cross-examination-style questioning on children's accuracy is likely to be due to the complex and credibility-challenging questions that characterize the interview. Given that cross-examination occurs after at least one prior interview, however, it is equally possible that repeated interviewing per se impairs children's accuracy, and that the questions asked have little bearing on children's responses. To examine this issue, 5- and 6-year-old children (n= 82) and 9- and 10-year-old children (n= 103) took part in a surprise event and were then interviewed using an analogue of direct examination. Either 1 week or 6 months later, half of the children were re-interviewed with an analogue of cross-examination designed to challenge their direct examination responses. Remaining children were re-interviewed with the same questions that were asked during direct examination. Children's accuracy decreased following their second interview, irrespective of age or delay; however, delay particularly impacted younger children's second interview performance. Children's accuracy was most impaired following a cross-examination-style interview. Overall, cross-examination-style questioning appears to be particularly detrimental to obtaining accurate event reports from children.

Children's event reports: factors affecting responses to repeated questions in vignette scenarios and event recall interviews

When adults repeat questions, children often give inconsistent answers. This study aimed to test the claim that these inconsistencies occur because children infer that their first answer was unsatisfactory, and that the adult expects them to change their answer. Children aged 4, 6, and 8 years (N= 134) were asked about vignettes in which an adult repeated a question, with manipulation of the adult's overt dissatisfaction (high vs. low pressure) and knowledge about the information sought. On a separate occasion, the children were given an unrelated event recall interview containing repeated questions. All age groups showed sensitivity to adult dissatisfaction, interpreting question repetition as an implicit request for answer change more frequently in the high than in the low-pressure vignettes. Overall, however, these 'change-expected' interpretations were least frequent in the younger children, who were the most prone to shifting. Also there was no evidence that these interpretations were associated with more frequent shifting in the recall interview. The results do not provide clear support for a simple conversational inference account of shifting, especially in younger children.

Assessing the effectiveness of the NICHD investigative interview protocol when interviewing French-speaking alleged victims of child sexual abuse in Quebec

OBJECTIVES

The study was designed to assess the effectiveness of the flexibly structured NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol for child sexual abuse (CSA) investigative interviews by police officers and mental health workers in Quebec. The NICHD Protocol was designed to operationalize "best practice" guidelines and to help forensic interviewers use open-ended prompts to facilitate free recall by alleged victims.

METHOD

A total of 83 interviews with 3- to 13-year-old alleged victims were matched with 83 interviews conducted by the same interviewers before they were trained to use the Protocol. Interviews were matched with respect to the children's ages, children-perpetrator relationships, and the types and frequency of abuse. Coders categorized each of the prompts used to elicit information about the abuse and tabulated the numbers of new forensically relevant details provided in each response.

RESULTS

Interviewers used three times as many open-ended prompts in Protocol interviews than in non-Protocol interviews, whereas use of all other types of questions was halved, and the total number of questions asked decreased by 25%. Protocol-guided interviews yielded more details than comparison interviews. The mean number of details per prompt increased from 3 to 5 details when the Protocol was used. Even with young children, interviewers using the Protocol employed more invitations to elicit forensically relevant details.

CONCLUSIONS

French-speaking investigators using the NICHD Protocol used open-ended prompts rather than focused questions when interviewing alleged victims. In addition, these interviewers needed fewer questions to get relevant information when using the Protocol.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

A French version of the NICHD Protocol is now available to police officers and social workers who investigate the alleged sexual abuse of young children in French-speaking countries. This French version allowed trained interviewers to increase the use of invitations and reduce the use of more focused and risky questions. When the number of questions was controlled, more central details and more details in total were obtained in Protocol interviews, because the average prompt elicited more detailed answers in Protocol interviews. However, learning to use the NICHD Protocol required extended training and continued feedback sessions to maintain the high quality of interviewing.

Repetition of contaminating question types when children and youths with intellectual disabilities are interviewed

BACKGROUND

The present study examined the effects of repeating questions in interviews investigating the possible sexual abuse of children and youths who had a variety of intellectual disabilities. We predicted that the repetition of option-posing and suggestive questions would lead the suspected victims to change their responses, making it difficult to understand what actually happened. Inconsistency can be a key factor when assessing the reliability of witnesses.

MATERIALS

Case files and transcripts of investigative interviews with 33 children and youths who had a variety of intellectual disabilities were obtained from prosecutors in Sweden. The interviews involved 25 females and 9 males whose chronological ages were between 5.4 and 23.7 years when interviewed (M = 13.2 years).

RESULTS

Six per cent of the questions were repeated at least once. The repetition of focused questions raised doubts about the reports because the interviewees changed their answers 40% of the time.

CONCLUSIONS

Regardless of the witnesses' abilities, it is important to obtain reports that are as accurate and complete as possible in investigative interviews. Because this was a field study, we did not know which responses were accurate, but repetitions of potentially contaminating questions frequently led the interviewees to contradict their earlier answers. This means that the interviewers' behaviour diminished the usefulness of the witnesses' testimony.

A structured forensic interview protocol improves the quality and informativeness of investigative interviews with children: a review of research using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol

OBJECTIVE

To show how the results of research on children's memory, communicative skills, social knowledge, and social tendencies can be translated into guidelines that improve the quality of forensic interviews of children.

METHOD

We review studies designed to evaluate children's capacities as witnesses, explain the development of the structured NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol, and discuss studies designed to assess whether use of the Protocol enhances the quality of investigative interviews.

RESULTS

Controlled studies have repeatedly shown that the quality of interviewing reliably and dramatically improves when interviewers employ the NICHD Protocol. No other technique has been proven to be similarly effective.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of the structured NICHD Protocol improves the quality of information obtained from alleged victims by investigators, thereby increasing the likelihood that interventions will be appropriate.

Young children's references to temporal attributes of allegedly experienced events in the course of forensic interviews

Developmental differences in references to temporal attributes of allegedly experienced events were examined in 250 forensic interviews of 4- to 10-year-old alleged victims of sexual abuse. Children's ages, the specific temporal attributes referenced, and the types of memory tapped by the interviewers' questions significantly affected the quantity and quality of temporal references produced. The findings documented age-related increases in 4- to 10-year-olds' references to temporal attributes, using the appropriate relational terminology, both spontaneously and in response to temporal requests. More references to temporal attributes were elicited from recall than from recognition memory, highlighting spontaneous reporting capabilities. Implications for theories concerning the developing understanding of temporal concepts and for the design of effective, age-appropriate, forensic interview techniques are discussed.

Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse

A number (n = 27) of investigative interviews with children were analyzed with a view to explore the verbal dynamics between interviewer and child. Different types of interviewer utterances and child responses were defined, and the interrelationships between these were explored. The effectiveness of different interviewer utterances in eliciting information from children as well as the type of utterance the interviewer used to follow up an informative answer by the child were investigated. Option-posing and suggestive utterances made up for more than 50% of interviewer utterances, the proportion of invitations being only 2%. Invitations and directive utterances were associated with an increase in informative responses by the child, the adverse being true for option-posing and suggestive utterances. Interestingly, even after the child had provided an informative answer, interviewers continued to rely on focused and leading interviewing methods--in spite of a slight improvement in interviewing behavior.

Developmental Differences in the Function and Use of Anatomical Dolls During Interviews With Alleged Sexual Abuse Victims

The impact of anatomical dolls on reports provided by 3- to 12-year-old alleged sexual abuse victims (N = 178) was examined. Children produced as many details in response to open-ended invitations with and without the dolls. In response to directive questions, the 3- to 6-year-olds were more likely to re-enact behaviorally than to report verbally, whereas the 7- to 12-year-olds produced more verbal details than enactments when using the dolls. With the dolls, the younger children were more likely than the older children to play suggestively and to contradict details provided without the dolls, whereas the older children were more likely to provide details that were consistent. Children in both age groups produced proportionally more fantastic details with the dolls than without the dolls.

Using a human figure drawing to elicit information from alleged victims of child sexual abuse

Ninety 4- to 13-year-old alleged victims of sexual abuse were interviewed by police officers using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) investigative interview protocol, following which they were shown a human figure drawing and asked a series of questions. The drawing and associated questions elicited an average of 86 new forensically relevant details. They were especially productive with 4- to 7-year-olds, who provided an average of 95 additional details (27% of their total) after the drawing was introduced despite having previously "exhausted" their memories. Information elicited using the drawing may be less accurate, however, because recognition memory prompts predominated, so such drawings should only be introduced late in investigative interviews.

Interviewing youthful suspects in alleged sex crimes: a descriptive analysis

OBJECTIVE

To introduce and evaluate a structured interview protocol designed for investigative interviews of youthful alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

METHOD

Seventy-two alleged perpetrators ranging from 9 to 14 years of age (M = 12 years) were interviewed by 1 of 13 experienced youth investigators, employed by the Israeli Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, about incidents that had been reported by alleged victims. All interviews were conducted as part of the investigators' regular work and followed the structured interview guide appended to this article.

RESULTS

Interviewers questioned older and younger children similarly, but addressed fewer invitations, directive questions, and option-posing prompts to suspects who denied the allegations than to those who partially or fully admitted them. The total number of details provided by the suspects did not vary depending on their age or whether or not they fully or partially admitted the allegations. In both cases, more information was elicited using invitations rather than suggestive or option-posing prompts.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to expectations, suspects who at least partially admitted their involvement provided considerable amounts of information and were very responsive to free recall prompts, although interviewers used more risky (potentially error-inducing) prompts when interviewing suspects rather than alleged victims.

Age differences in young children's responses to open-ended invitations in the course of forensic interviews

To elucidate age differences in responses to free-recall prompts (i.e., invitations and cued invitations) and focused recognition prompts (i.e., option-posing and suggestive utterances), the authors examined 130 forensic interviews of 4- to 8-year-old alleged victims of sexual abuse. There were age differences in the total number of details elicited as well as in the number of details elicited using each of the different types of prompts, especially invitations. More details were elicited from older than from younger children in response to all types of prompts, but there were no age differences in the proportion of details (about 50%) elicited using invitations. Cued invitations elicited 18% of the total details, and the number of details elicited using cued invitations increased with age. Action-based cues consistently elicited more details than other types of cues.

Use of a structured investigative protocol enhances young children's responses to free-recall prompts in the course of forensic interviews

One hundred alleged victims of child sexual abuse (ages 4-12 years; M = 8.1 years) were interviewed by police investigators about their alleged experiences. Half of the children were interviewed using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's structured interview protocol, whereas the other children--matched with respect to their age, relationship with the alleged perpetrator, and seriousness of the alleged offenses--were interviewed using standard interview practices. Protocol-guided interviews elicited more information using open-ended prompts and less information using option-posing and suggestive questions than did standard interviews; there were no age differences in the amount of information provided in response to open-ended invitations. In 89% of the protocol interviews, children made their preliminary allegations in response to open-ended prompts, compared with 36% in the standard interviews.

The Memorandum of Good Practice: theory versus application

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality of investigative interviews in England and Wales since implementation of the Memorandum of Good Practice (MOGP), which specified how forensic interviews of alleged child abuse victims should be conducted.

METHOD

Transcripts of 119 videotaped interviews of alleged victims between the ages of 4 and 13 years were obtained from 13 collaborating police forces. Trained raters then classified the types of prompts used by the investigators to elicit substantive information from the children, and tabulated the number of forensically relevant details provided by the children in each response.

RESULTS

Like their counterparts in the United States, Israel, and Sweden, forensic interviewers in England and Wales relied heavily on option-posing prompts, seldom using open-ended utterances to elicit information from the children. Nearly 40% of the information obtained was elicited using option-posing and suggestive prompts, which are known to elicit less reliable information than open-ended prompts do.

CONCLUSION

Despite the clarity and specificity of the MOGP, its implementation appears to have had less effect on the practices of forensic interviewers in the field than was hoped. Further work should focus on ways of training interviewers to implement the superior practices endorsed by the MOGP and similar professional guidelines.