NCJ Number
102722
Date Published
1985
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper presents principles and procedures for interviewing child sexual abuse victims.
Abstract
Children should be interviewed by a trained evaluator alone in a pleasant, spacious room equipped with play materials, including blocks, an anatomically correct doll family, paper, pencils, and crayons. The room should be soundproof and equipped with either videotape equipment or an audio tape recorder. A female-male evaluation team is effective in controlling for bias and providing for separate opinions. Procedures should never vary in interviewing children and should include a period for relaxation. Children are asked about the interview's purpose and what experiences they have liked and disliked in the course of growing up. Children then draw a picture of their families, followed by the administration of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised-Form L, which determines their mental age. General questions are the most effective in eliciting information from children. Various questions can be used to determine children's suceptibility to influence and memory capabilities. Anatomically correct dolls are useful to aid children in telling about sexual abuse. Children usually provide information about sexual abuse within the first 15 to 20 minutes of the interview. Overall, the interview lasts no longer than 50 minutes. 14-item bibliography.