Techniques For The Child Interview And A Methodology For Substantiating Sexual Abuse

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

Because of the central role played by the child interview in substantiating sexual abuse, it is addressed in greater depth than some of the other aspects of child sexual abuse practice.

Introduction

As noted in the previous chapter, child interview data may be gathered in one or more interviews, depending on the particular child, the professional conducting the interview, and the safety of the child's living arrangement. The interviewer must initially spend time getting to know the child. This allows the interviewer to learn about the child's life circumstances and possible context of abuse and to ascertain the child's developmental level, modes of communication, the child's affective or emotional state(s), and overall functioning, including the child's competency. With young children, this part of the assessment usually involves play activity with some questions. With older children, the interviewer is likely to rely primarily on talking to the child and asking questions. At this point, questions are usually about the child's life in general and are neutral. They might include queries about the child, as well as her/his school, friends, and family.

Either before, during, or following this general discussion, the interviewer speaks to the child about why she/he is being seen and how the information the child gives will be used. If the interview is to be taped or there are people behind the one-way mirror, the child should be informed. This material is communicated at the child's developmental level and varies with the circumstances of the case.

Information elicited, statements recorded, and behavior observed during this initial phase of the interview often lead naturally into discussion of possible sexual abuse.

Techniques for Interviewing the Child

A variety of techniques can be used in trying to elicit information from the child. The focus here is on techniques most useful with young children. Appropriate questions and several types of media or props - anatomically explicit dolls, anatomical drawings, picture drawing, story telling, and the doll house - are discussed.

Although appropriate questions will be the first technique discussed, they are no more important than the media that will be described. In many cases, what children demonstrate with media is far more compelling than what they say. It is also somewhat artificial to treat questioning as a separate undertaking. Although questions can be used by themselves, as will become clear, questions are always asked in the process of using media, and the limited research suggests children communicate more accurately when questioned using props than when questioned without them.

It is a good practice to use more than one technique in eliciting information, even if it is only the combination of the use of anatomical dolls and questions. Some of these techniques, such as story telling, are rightfully the province of mental health professionals and should not be used by Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers and law enforcement personnel. However, the other techniques can be used by all professionals likely to interview children, provided they have adequate training in their use.

Use of Questions

It is prudent to avoid leading questions in case they might cause a false accusation and in order to preclude challenges to interviewing techniques. The interviewer should assume that the more open-ended the question, the greater confidence he/she should have in the child's responses. A continuum consisting of five types of questions, from most open-ended to most close-ended, is presented in the following discussion. This framework is fairly consistent with other clinical writing on questioning strategies. The types of questions are as follows:

• general questions,
• focused questions,
• multiple-choice questions,
• yes-no questions, and
• leading questions.

General Questions

General questions are frequently used as opening questions when an adult comes in for assessment or treatment. For example, if an adult rape victim comes to a mental health professional, the therapist might begin by asking, "Tell me why you came to see me today." This question is likely to elicit an account of the rape.

Interviewers attempting to determine if a child has been sexually abused usually ask comparable general questions early in the interview. They might ask, "Did anyone tell you why you are coming to see me today?" With adolescents and late latency-aged children, general questions often produce some information about sexual abuse. Unfortunately, these general questions are less useful with young children. Typical responses from them are, "No," or "I don't remember" (despite the care the accompanying adult might have taken in preparing the child). Alternatively young children may acknowledge that they know why they are being interviewed but say they don't want to talk about it. The children may also give vague responses such as "to talk about the bad things" or "to say what Grandpa did." However, they may fail or refuse to elaborate. More directive questions are needed.

About the Author

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Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.