Exploratory assessments of child abuse : children's responses to interviewers' questions across multiple interview sessions
Patterson, Tess
Exploratory assessments of child abuse : children's responses to interviewers' questions across multiple interview sessions Patterson, Thelma Gay (Tess); Pipe, Margaret-Ellen - 2009
Subscriber access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.12.012 Child Abuse and Neglect 33(8) August 2009 : 490-504
This article describes a New Zealand study examining very young children's responsiveness in interviews conducted over multiple sessions as part of an assessment in cases of suspected sexual abuse. The interviews were designed to be inquisitory and exploratory, rather than formal evidential or forensic interviews. The study involved 66 interviews with 24 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who were undergoing an assessment for suspected child abuse. Each child was interviewed two, three or four times. The interviewer's questions were categorised in terms of openness, the degree of interviewer input and topic. Children's on-task responses were coded for the amount of information provided (measured by the number of clauses) in response to each question type and topic. Off-task responses were categorized as either ignoring the question or a diverted response. The study showed children provided a response to most questions, independent of question type or topic and generally responded with one or two simple clauses. Some children disclosed abuse in response to open-ended questions; generally, however, failure to respond to a question was more likely for abuse-specific than for non-abuse-related questions. These findings are discussed in the context of the literature on interviewing children about suspected abuse, particularly in interviews conducted over multiple sessions. The research indicates that assessment of suspected child abuse may involve more than a single investigative interview. In order to develop best practise guidelines for the assessment of abuse, further research examining children's responses to questioning over multiple interviews (or single interviews conducted over multiple sessions) is required.
CHILDREN AT RISK
CHILDREN
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
CHILD ABUSE
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
NEW ZEALAND
Exploratory assessments of child abuse : children's responses to interviewers' questions across multiple interview sessions Patterson, Thelma Gay (Tess); Pipe, Margaret-Ellen - 2009
Subscriber access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.12.012 Child Abuse and Neglect 33(8) August 2009 : 490-504
This article describes a New Zealand study examining very young children's responsiveness in interviews conducted over multiple sessions as part of an assessment in cases of suspected sexual abuse. The interviews were designed to be inquisitory and exploratory, rather than formal evidential or forensic interviews. The study involved 66 interviews with 24 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who were undergoing an assessment for suspected child abuse. Each child was interviewed two, three or four times. The interviewer's questions were categorised in terms of openness, the degree of interviewer input and topic. Children's on-task responses were coded for the amount of information provided (measured by the number of clauses) in response to each question type and topic. Off-task responses were categorized as either ignoring the question or a diverted response. The study showed children provided a response to most questions, independent of question type or topic and generally responded with one or two simple clauses. Some children disclosed abuse in response to open-ended questions; generally, however, failure to respond to a question was more likely for abuse-specific than for non-abuse-related questions. These findings are discussed in the context of the literature on interviewing children about suspected abuse, particularly in interviews conducted over multiple sessions. The research indicates that assessment of suspected child abuse may involve more than a single investigative interview. In order to develop best practise guidelines for the assessment of abuse, further research examining children's responses to questioning over multiple interviews (or single interviews conducted over multiple sessions) is required.
CHILDREN AT RISK
CHILDREN
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
CHILD ABUSE
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
NEW ZEALAND