Chapter 11 - Forensic Interviewing of Children

Test Items

1. The goal of forensic interviewing is to elicit information to be used a. for treatment purposes b. for prevention programs c. in legal settings d. all of the above

Answer: C

2. The Federal Rule of Evidence 601 a. abolished the competency rules for witnesses b. said that children could not provide uncorroborated testimony in court c. ruled that children were not competent to provide testimony in court d. expanded hearsay testimony allowances

Answer: A

3. In a legal context, uncorroborated testimony is testimony that is a. almost certainly false b. not supported or confirmed by additional evidence c. almost certainly true d. offered by multiple witnesses

Answer: B a. Spontaneous accounts b. Responding to unbiased questions c. Responding to open-ended questions d. A significant amount of time passing between the event and the telling so that memories have the chance to fully form

4. Which of the following is NOT associated with children providing accurate testimony?

Answer: D a. How old are you? b. Did something bad happen at daycare? c. What happened when you stayed at your uncle’s house? d. Can you tell me what Mr. Jones did to upset you?

5. Which of the following questions is open-ended and unbiased?

Answer: C a. All of the children picked the accurate picture. b. Children who were misled made more errors than children who were not misled c. It was more difficult to mislead the younger children than the older children d. There were no age differences in error rate among the misled children

6. When researchers told children a story about a child who ate eggs and got a stomach ache and then later gave some of the children misleading information (e.g., Do you remember the story about Loren who had a headache because she ate her cereal too fast?), what happened when children were asked to select which picture had been in the story?

Answer: B

7. Rudy and Goodman’s (1991) study where children dressed as a clown with a man who was a stranger to them found that a. Older children gave less correct information than did younger children b. Observers were more resistant to suggestion than were participants c. Children made very few errors that would be relevant in the assessment of abuse allegations d. Older children were more suggestible than younger children

Answer: C a. Preschool children b. Elementary School aged children c. Adolescents

8. In interviewing children, which age group has special deficiencies (limited response in free recall, deference to adults, and problems with source monitoring) that make them vulnerable to suggestion through coercive questioning?

Answer: A

9. Ceci et al. (1994) asked children the same question repeatedly. They found that a. Children were remarkably consistent about their answers b. More than half of the children assented to at least one false event. c. Children were willing to lie, but did not believe their false stories d. None of the above

Answer: B a. Omission b. Commission c. Both an omission and a commission error. d. Neither an omission nor a commission error

10. Failing to mention that something happened is a(n) error.

Answer: A a. Omission b. Commission c. Both an omission and a commission error. d. Neither an omission nor a commission error

11. Saying that something happened when it did not occur is a(n) error.

Answer: B

12. The understanding that one thing can be two things at once is a. Metacognition b. Double thinking c. Dual representation d. Present at birth

Answer: C

13. Research by DeLoache and Marzolf (1995) showed that children do not seem to understand dual representation until they are a. 18 months old b. 24 months old (2 years) c. 36 months old (3 years) d. 48 months old (4 years)

Answer: D a. A self-fulfilling prophecy b. A clear establishment of rapport c. A good forensic interview

14. If an interviewer’s beliefs about what happened impact the questions they ask and this leads to the child providing information that is false, but consistent with those beliefs, what has occurred?

Answer: A

15. A feeling of connection or trust between an interviewer and a child is called a. A coercive interview b. Rapport c. Interviewer bias d. A clumsy interview

Answer: B a. Children are very attentive to clumsy behavior b. Children’s memory is effected by negative information they hear about a person before they meet them; even if the person behaves appropriately in their presence c. Even young children form their own impressions; they are not swayed by negative stereotypes d. Older children are more influenced by negative stereotypes than are younger children

16. What was the main finding of the Sam Stone study?

Answer: B

17. According to Wood and Garven, an interview style that is likely to elicit false information should be called a(n) a. clumsy interview b. improper interview c. coercive interview

Answer: B

18. According to Wood and Garven, an interview style that is not likely to lead to false allegations, but that is conducted poorly is a. clumsy interview b. improper interview c. coercive interview

Answer: A a. Children’s Police Stations b. Children’s Hospitals c. Child Advocacy Centers d. Centers for Abuse Recognition

19. What is the term used for special centers where carefully trained forensic interviewers conduct interviews, doctors do forensic medical exams, and therapists conduct therapy sessions for allegedly abused children?

Answer: C

True/False

1. It is harder to get a child’s testimony into court now than it was during the 1970s.

Answer: False

2. According to Federal Rule of Evidence 601, all witnesses are presumed competent.

Answer: True

3. There is general agreement that it is appropriate to use anatomically detailed dolls as anatomical models.

Answer: False

5. Psychiatrists who observed children playing with anatomically detailed dolls were able to correctly determine whether the children had been sexually abused about 85% of the time.

Answer: False

Short Answer Questions

1. Under what conditions would you be confident about the accuracy of a child’s testimony?

Answer: I would be confident in the accuracy of a child’s testimony if they told about the event spontaneously and after a minimum delay. I would also be confident if they had been asked only open-ended and non-biased question and if interviewers had avoided repeating questions.

2. What did Bruck et al. discover about children’s interactions with anatomical dolls?

Answer: Bruck discovered that when anatomical dolls were used, over 50% of children made false statements/demonstrated false events about what had occurred during a visit to the doctor if they were asked repeated, suggestive questions.

3. What is meant by the phrase “self-fulfilling prophecy”?

Answer: Social psychologists use the term self-fulfilling prophecy to refer to the process by which one person’s expectations about another person will actually lead that other person to behave in the expected way.

4. Identify 5 errors in the following interview (there are more than that!) between an investigator and a 3-year-old child:

Child enters room.

I: You may have a seat here. (Gestures to chair). Thank you for coming in to talk to me today. I understand that some bad things have happened to you.

C: (Shrugs. Nods yes.)

I: Can you tell me who hurt you.

C: Yes.

I: Who was it that hurt you?

C: Joe.

I: I want to talk to you about how Joe hurt you. Did Joe touch your bottom?

C: No.

I: You don’t have to be embarrassed. You can tell me about what happened. You did not do anything wrong.

C: Okay.

I: Did Joe touch your bottom?

C: Yes.

I: He did. Did that make you feel bad?

C: (Shrugs.)

I: I need for you to talk to me. We can’t make sure Joe goes away if you don’t talk to me.

C: Can I go home?

I: First we have to talk, than you can go home.

C: Okay.

I: Tell me how Joe made you feel bad.

C: He touched me.

I: Can you show me on this doll how he touched you?

C: (nods yes)

I: (Hands child a male, child doll. The doll is naked and anatomically correct.)

C: (Handles doll, puts finger in the child’s anus.)

I: Is that what Joe did to you?

C: Yes.

I: Did he put his finger in your bottom or his penis?

C: Yes.

I: He put his penis in your bottom. Did that hurt a lot?

C: (Shrugs).

Answer: Mistakes are noted in bold type.

Child enters room.

I: You may have a seat here. (Gestures to chair). Thank you for coming in to talk to me today. I understand that some bad things have happened to you. Does not build rapport. Suggestive “bad things.”

C: (Shrugs. Nods yes.)

I: Can you tell me who hurt you. Suggestive – implies someone hurt the child.

C: Yes.

I: Who was it that hurt you?

C: Joe.

I: I want to talk to you about how Joe hurt you. Did Joe touch your bottom? Suggestive. The child has not said anything about bottoms.

C: No.

I: You don’t have to be embarrassed, you can tell me about what happened. You did not do anything wrong. Suggestive – the child did not say he was embarrassed.

C: Okay.

I: Did Joe touch your bottom? Repeated question.

C: Yes.

I: He did. Did that make you feel bad? Suggestive – “bad.”

C: (Shrugs.)

I: I need for you to talk to me. We can’t make sure Joe goes away if you don’t talk to me.

C: Can I go home?

I: First we have to talk, then you can go home. Coercive.

C: Okay.

I: Tell me how Joe made you feel bad. Suggestive – the child has not said that Joe made him feel bad.

C: He touched me.

I: Can you show me on this doll how he touched you?

C: (nods yes)

I: (Hands child a male, child doll. The doll is naked and anatomically correct.)

C: (Handles doll, puts finger in the child’s anus.)

I: Is that what Joe did to you? Requires dual representation; child this age will not be able to do this.

C: Yes.

I: Did he put his finger in your bottom or his penis? Multiple choice question that may not include a correct answer.

C: Yes.

I: He put his penis in your bottom. Did that hurt a lot? Suggestive “hurt”. The child said nothing about pain.

C: (Shrugs).

5. List 3 three things an interviewer should take into account when interviewing a child who is an immigrant.

Answer: Any 3 of these:

Make sure to conduct the interview in the preferred language of the child

Make sure to appreciate cultural differences

Be aware that children of different cultures develop competencies at different ages

Take a full trauma history

6. What is a practice interview?

Answer: A practice interview is when a forensic interviewer asks a child about a neutral, non-abuse related event before talking about the alleged abuse. This allows time for rapport building and to assess the child’s language ability and narrative style.

Additional Case Studies

1. Bidrose and Goodman (2000) present a scientific case study of memory for child sexual abuse. They present a case where four victims gave testimony that was then compared to video tapes made by the perpetrator. This case allows for a unique assessment of the accuracy of children’s testimony about sexual abuse.

Bidrose, S., & Goodman, G. S. (2000). Testimony and evidence: A scientific case study of memory for child sexual abuse. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 14, 197213. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0720(200005/06)14:3<197::AIDACP647>3.0.CO;2-6

2. This four page case study follows a child sexual abuse case from the forensic interview to the victim impact statement. It is available at: https://www.jscimedcentral.com/Forensic/forensic-4-1047.pdf

Meyer, G. & Mukherjee, D. (2017). The story of Lee: A case study highlighting the multidisciplinary team model of child sexual abuse cases: From forensic interview to the vicimt impact statement in court. Annals of Forensic Research and Analysis, 4(3), 1047-1050.

Video Suggestions

1. Indictment – The McMartin Trial (1995), produced by HBO and Oliver Stone, tells the story of the McMartin sexual abuse trial. Note: the film is rated R. It is available from Amazon.com for $14.47 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2rehYoMtRU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyexxmtDNOU&feature=related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FylkOaaAc9s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDq7PanmqtA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WXE2a53oDk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7htQLW-R5KI https://calio.org/takeaway-tuesday/ Topics include such things as 15 Principles for Forensic Interviewers, Rapport Development and Social Support, Conducting an Effective Narrative Practice, and Subjective Content in Forensic Interviews.

2. This video clip (1:51) uploaded by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Texas discusses the purpose of forensic interviewing in cases of alleged child abuse.

3. This YouTube video is a 27 minute in service training. Heather Smith of a Children’s Advocacy Center talks about forensic interviewing and what advocacy centers do for maltreated children.

4. This YouTube video is entitled The Reasons Forensic Child Sexual Abuse Interviews Fail (False Disclosure). Lawrence Daly, a forensic interviewer goes over six mistakes that interviewers make. The video clip is 6 minutes and 21 seconds.

5. This YouTube video is a short news clip (2 minutes) produced by WISC-TV, News 3. The story covers forensic interviewing at Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center.

6. This YouTube video presents a lecture given by John E. B. Myers a law professor and leading researcher on legal issues in child maltreatment. It is a long video (58:27) and it covers many legal issues. He begins talking about forensic interviewing at minute 29.

7. This YouTube video was produced by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Spartanburg. It tells viewers what happens at the CAC from the perspective of a child victim (5:56).

8. The National Children’s Advocacy Center publishes a series of videos from 5 to 7 minutes each that address different aspects of forensic interviewing with children.

Discussion Topics

1. How might a forensic interviewer keep an open mind when they spend most of their time working with children who were maltreated?

2. Have students interview a child about a recent event (nothing potentially abusive) the child experienced that was witnessed by at least one adult. Direct the students to use good interview techniques to get as much accurate information as possible. Compare the story the student was told by the child to the adult witness’s account. It is even better if the event was recorded on video. Students can tape their interviews with the child and allow the class to evaluate their style (most students have phones that are capable of video recording).

3. Have a student volunteer to interview another student (who is acting as a child) about an alleged abusive event in front of the class. Let the other students evaluate the questions posed and the interview style.

4. Invite a forensic interviewer from the local advocacy center to talk with the class about a career as a forensic interviewer. Encourage students to discuss the benefits and drawbacks about this type of work.

5. Due to space limitations, I could not cover all interview protocols in the text. An additional good set of guidelines is provided by APSAC. You can find their 2012 Practice Guidelines: Forensic Interviewing in Cases of Suspected Child Abuse at https://depts.washington.edu/uwhatc/PDF/guidelines/Forensic%20Interviewing% 20in%20Cases%20of%20Suspected%20Child%20Abuse.pdf

They cover the purpose of a child forensic interview, interviewer attributes, interview context, interview components, acknowledgements and appendices in 29 pages.