NCJ Number
164637
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 20 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1996) Pages: 1251-1259
Date Published
1996
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Verbal and nonverbal responses by alleged victims of child sexual abuse were coded for length, the amount of information, and the manner in which they were elicited by the interviewer.
Abstract
The data were gathered from videotapes provided by protective services offices in a large southeastern State. Sixteen of the videotaped interviews used anatomical dolls for the purposes of demonstration; eight interviews did not use anatomical dolls. The two sets of cases were matched with respect to other characteristics of the children and the alleged events. Professional court transcribers who did not know the study goals transcribed each interview and tried to describe in detail nonverbal gestures and actions relevant to the dolls. The transcriptions and descriptions were checked to ensure accuracy and then coded by three coders. Results revealed that the children interviewed with dolls provided an equivalent number of details and spoke as many words in the substantive portion of the interview as did children interviewed without dolls, and interviewers in the two groups used similar probes to elicit information. However, the average responses by the children were significantly longer and more detailed when dolls were not used. In addition, children gave longer and more detailed responses to open-ended invitations when dolls were not used. Tables and 28 references (Author abstract modified)