NCJ Number
226866
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2009 Pages: 172-181
Date Published
May 2009
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined, in the forensic context, the association between the amount of information obtained from children in the course of sexual abuse investigations and the style of rapport-building attempts by interviewers as well as the level of support they provided to the children.
Abstract
The results of the study suggest that richer information in the child’s responses was associated with a short and open style rapport-building session as well as with a higher level of interviewer’s support. This association was especially noted for less talkative children who might be in special need of support and for who the rapport with the interviewer might be more meaningful. The growing involvement of children in the legal system has led researchers to explore factors associated with the richness and accuracy of children’s testimony. Where the majority of studies have focused on the effects of cognitive factors on the quality of such testimony and the effects of the question type used in investigative interviews, research has been minimal on the exploration of socioemotional factors. Two socioemotional factors were explored in association with children’s production of forensic information during sexual abuse investigations: rapport building and interviewer’s support. Specifically, the study tested to what extent (1) the length and questioning style of the rapport-building session and (2) the support interviewers provided to children were associated with the amount of forensic details provided in sexual abuse investigations. A total of 71 forensic interviews of alleged victims of child sexual abuse were subject to a detailed psycholinguistic analysis. Tables and references