NCJ Number
49032
Date Published
1972
Length
11 pages
Annotation
GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS WITH FAMILIES IN WHICH CHILD ABUSE IS OR MAY BE A PROBLEM ARE PRESENTED IN A DISCUSSION DIRECTED TO SOCIAL WORKERS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS WHO DEAL WITH ABUSING FAMILIES.
Abstract
INTERVIEWERS SHOULD AVOID OUTRIGHT ATTEMPTS TO FIND OUT WHO ACTUALLY HAS HURT AN INJURED CHILD, BUT SHOULD ASK QUESTIONS THAT WILL ELICIT RESPONSES THAT ARE PREDICTABLY DIFFERENT FOR ABUSERS AND NONABUSERS. DIFFERENCES IN CHILD-REARING ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES AMONG SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES AND CULTURES MUST BE UNDERSTOOD SO THAT SUCH DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE INTERVIEWER AND THE PARENT WILL NOT LEAD TO MISTAKEN IMPRESSIONS OF THE PARENT'S POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE. INTERVIEWERS CAN DEVELOP RAPPORT WITH PARENTS BY KEEPING THE INTERVIEW PARENT CENTERED, CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW IN A RELAXED SETTING, AVOIDING LONG SESSIONS, BEING HONEST, SEEING THE PARENTS SEPARATELY AND THEN TOGETHER, BEING AVAILABLE TO SEE THE PARENTS AS SOON AS THEY ARRIVE FOR THEIR INTERVIEW, AND KEEPING THE PARENTS INFORMED ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON. INTERVIEWS SHOULD BE STRUCTURED SO THAT DATA ARE GATHERED IN THREE MAJOR AREAS: THE PARENTS' POTENTIAL TO ABUSE; THE CHILD WHO IS VULNERABLE TO ABUSE; AND THE CRISIS OR CRISES THAT PRECIPITATED OR MAY PRECIPITATE ABUSE. TO EVALUATE THE PARENTS' POTENTIAL FOR INJURING A CHILD, IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW HOW THE PARENTS THEMSELVES WERE REARED, WHETHER THE FAMILY HAS ISOLATED ITSELF FROM POTENTIAL SOURCES OF HELP, THE NATURE OF THE HUSBAND-WIFE RELATIONSHIP, AND THE PARENTS' EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR CHILDREN (OR OF A PARTICULAR CHILD). QUESTIONS THAT WILL ELICIT SUCH INFORMATION ARE LISTED. THE INTERVIEWER ALSO MUST GATHER DATA ABOUT THE CHILD WHOSE INJURY OR VULNERABILITY TO ABUSE IS OF CONCERN. THROUGH QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATION, IT SHOULD BE DETERMINED WHETHER THE CHILD IS PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT AND FUSSY, WHETHER THE CHILD IS A MEMBER OF A FAMILY WITH MODERATE OR HIGH POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE, AND (FOR OLDER CHILDREN) WHAT ROLE THE CHILD IS TAKING WITHIN THE FAMILY. IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED THAT THE CHILD WHO IS SEEN AS 'DIFFERENT' IN SOME WAY MAY BE MOST VULNERABLE TO ABUSE. BECAUSE THE ACTUAL ACT OF ABUSE USUALLY OCCURS DURING A CRISIS IN THE FAMILY, IT IS NECESSARY TO DETERMINE WHAT THAT CRISIS WAS OR MAY BE. OFTEN THE CRISIS MAY INVOLVE THE TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT LOSS OF SOMEONE WHO IS IMPORTANT TO ONE OF THE PARENTS, PARTICULARLY SOMEONE WHO IS ABLE TO RESCUE THE PARENT WHEN HE OR SHE IS FEELING 'UP TIGHT' WITH THE CHILDREN. (LKM)