NCJ Number
216367
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: 2006 Pages: 99-116
Date Published
2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examined the influence of an interviewer's race and the race of the child being interviewed on the child's disclosures in 220 cases of alleged child sexual abuse.
Abstract
The study found that the interaction between an interviewer's race and a child's race significantly predicted the degree of the child's disclosure of the abuse and its circumstances, but not in the direction predicted. The findings indicate that when interviewers and the children interviewed were not of the same race, the level of disclosure was higher than when interviewers and the children interviewed were of the same race. Caucasian children were almost twice as likely as African-American children to make a disclosure with a detailed account of activity to African-American interviewers; whereas, African-American children were almost three times as likely as Caucasian children to disclose with a detailed account of activity to a Caucasian interviewer. Interviewer race alone was not a significant predictor of degree of disclosure. Caucasian children were slightly more likely than African-American children to respond with no disclosure of sexual abuse during the forensic interviews, and African-American children were slightly more likely than Caucasian children to provide a disclosure with a detailed account of activity. The forensic interviews, all of which were conducted in an urban setting, were reviewed and coded for degree of disclosure (no disclosure, tentative disclosure, and disclosure with a detailed account of activity), focusing on African-American and Caucasian children and interviewers. 2 figures, 21 references, and appended coding form