NCJ Number
164636
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 20 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1996) Pages: 1249-1250
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Two studies concerning interviewing children who may be victims of abuse demonstrate the need for both field and laboratory studies to help guide best practice in this potentially controversial area.
Abstract
Both sets of authors properly recommend caution in the interpretation of their results, although they offer some pointers that may begin to influence practitioners. Lamb and colleagues conducted a field study. The results tend to challenge the practice-based opinion that children are facilitated by detailed dolls or are encouraged to indicate more information than if anatomically detailed dolls are not used. In fact, these authors learned that dolls appeared to inhibit spontaneous accounts. Samra and Yuille conducted a laboratory study based on a contrived event. The results revealed that anatomically neutral dolls did not seem to compromise children's ability to recall a traumatic event, even where leading questions were used. In fact, the results revealed that children recalled more details when interviewed with dolls than without any props. The studies differed in the type of interview used. 3 references