Dynamics of Forensic Interviews with Suspected Abuse Victims who do not Disclose Abuse

• NCJ Number: 215705
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 30 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 753-769
• Author(s): Irit Hershkowitz; Yael Orbach; Michael E. Lamb; Kathleen J. Sternberg; Dvora Horowitz
• Date Published: July 2006
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study, which was conducted in Israel, examined structural differences between forensic interviews with children that resulted in the children making allegations of being abused and forensic interviews with children that did not result in such allegations.

Abstract

Forensic interviews that resulted in the children alleging their abuse had significantly different dynamics when compared with interviews with children who did not disclose any abuse. When interviewing children who did not disclose abuse, the interviewers made less frequent use of free recall prompts and offered fewer supportive comments compared with interviews with children who eventually disclosed their abuse. Children who did not disclose abuse tended to be uncooperative, offered fewer details, and provided less information in their responses, even at the beginning of the interview. Early signs that a child is reluctant to provide information in response to questions requires that an interviewer spend more time and use more techniques for building rapport and trust in interaction with the child before asking questions related to abuse. Also, having more than one interview session with the child may facilitate the child's sharing an increasing amount of information related to abuse. The study involved analyses of 50 forensic interviews of children 4 to 13 years old who were suspected victims of abuse but did not disclose any abuse during their interviews. These interviews were compared with 50 interviews with children suspected of being abused who disclosed during their interviews being sexually or physically abused. Only cases with substantial evidence of abuse were included in the study. Analyses of audiotapes of the interviews focused on what the interviewers said and did and how the children responded. All interviewers used the interview protocol recommended by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 6 tables and 42 references