Incorporating the Principles of Scientifically Based Child Interviews Into Family Law Cases

• NCJ Number: 206570
• Journal: Journal of Child Custody Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 97-114
• Author(s): Kathryn Kuehnle; Lyn R. Greenberg; Michael C. Gottlieb
• Editor(s): Leslie M. Drozd Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews the rationale behind interviewing children and how science has evolved so that interviewing techniques can be applied to interviewing children in child custody evaluations offering invaluable information.

Abstract

The purpose of a child custody evaluation (CCE) is to better understand a particular family’s functioning and to assess the best interests of the children within the new family division. Yet, many custody evaluators have undervalued the rich and important information that children themselves can provide when assessing the children’s best interests. By ignoring this important source of data, evaluators may not fully appreciate the fit between parent and child, the child’s developmental abilities, and what custody arrangement may be in the child’s best interest. It is proposed that custody evaluators approach this task of interviewing children with a solid knowledge of forensic child interview techniques, in order to avoid contamination of a valuable source of information and obtain the most reliable information possible. The authors of this paper take the position that the science is now sufficiently evolved so that such interviewing techniques can be applied to interviewing children in child custody evaluations. Skilled interviewers of children will have a solid understanding of children’s abilities, limitations, and memory processes, as well as the impact of development on each child’s unique characteristics. Child custody evaluators need to formulate interview questions based on an awareness of the individual family’s situation and an understanding of the research literature regarding children’s adjustment to divorce. It is believed that scientific knowledge has progressed to the point that it is appropriate to recommend that empirically based investigative techniques for interviewing children be employed in CCE's. This is based on the fact that children can provide valuable information during a custody evaluation when empirically validated techniques are used and the interviewer considers doddering interpretations and contributory factors for the child’s statements.