What Is a Child-Appropriate Interview? Interaction Between Child Witnesses and Police Officers

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 3 Số 4 - Trang 369-392 - 2021
Annika Melinder1,2, Mikaela Magnusson3, Livia L. Gilstrap4
1Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
2Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
3Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
4Department of Psychology, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar

Tóm tắt

AbstractOver the past decades, researchers have recognized a need to develop more suitable forensic interview protocols to meet children’s right to receive improved and adapted communication. This study examines to what extent a relatively novel implementation of an investigative protocol conducted by highly trained Norwegian police investigators helps children (n = 33), 3–15 years of age, to report more detailed information from a criminal allegation than a previous protocol. Additionally, we investigated the bidirectional dynamics between interviewees and interviewers. We predicted that children’s spontaneous recollection would elicit more open-ended and focused questions from interviewers, and increase their likelihood of posing more open questions. We expected wh-questions to produce more central details regarding the abuse, which in turn allows the interviewers to resist employing suggestive and leading questioning. Results confirm an enriched communication after open-ended questions compared to suggestive and closed questions. Specifically, children reported more detailed central information regarding the abuse after cued recall and wh-questions (ps < .001), and interviewers followed up with more facilitators when children reported details (ps < .001). When the child was reluctant (e.g., said no) or a brief yes, interviewers produced more suggestive questions (ps < .01). We conclude that children may need more communication aids to recount their stressful experiences in an investigative context than what traditional interview protocols provide.

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Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Tập 3 Số 4

369-392

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