NCJ Number
241418
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 36 Issue: 11-12 Dated: November-December 2012 Pages: 753-759
Date Published
November 2012
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effects of the use of multipart prompts on the quality and quantity of children's testimony during forensic interviews.
Abstract
This study on the effectiveness of multipart prompts for use with children found that these types of prompts were destructive and greatly affected the quality and length of the children's testimonies. In addition, the study found that the children, regardless of age, were unable to indicate their lack of understanding of the prompts, and that when they were able to produce a relevant and substantive answer, their responses were geared primarily towards the last demand in the multipart prompt. This study examined whether the use of multipart prompts was an effective tool for use with children involved in forensic interviews. Data for the study were obtained from a sample of Israeli children, aged 4-9 years, who were interviewed by authorities following a complaint of a single incident of sexual abuse by a perpetrator who was not a family member. Researchers identified which prompts were simple compared to those that were multipart and analyzed the children's responses to the various prompts. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the effect that each type of prompt had on the length and richness of the children's answers. The study's findings support previous research that indicates the use of multipart prompts with children in forensic interviews provides responses to questions that are not as complete and informative as those obtained from the use of simple prompts. Study limitations are discussed. Table and references