Forensic interviewers’ experiences of interviewing children of different ages

Abstract

Increased knowledge about practitioners' experiences of conducting forensic child interviews may provide valuable insights into the perceived challenges they encounter when questioning children. This mixed-methods study examined Swedish practitioners' views on different interviewing components (ground rules, rapport building, practice narratives, question types), props, strategies for adapting their methods for preschool-aged children, and perceptions of challenges interviewing children of differing ages. Eighty-eight specialized forensic child interviewers responded to a national survey. The data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Attitudes regarding different interviewing components were mainly in line with current research recommendations. Prop use was primarily limited to drawings, photographs, and stressreduction tools. A variety of strategies were used to adapt the existing protocol for questioning young children, indicating a potential need for additional standardized guidelines for this age group. Furthermore, the perceived barriers for children to disclose and the demands placed on the interviewer varied across age groups. Since all children should have the right to be questioned with age appropriate methods, we need to continue to develop ways of adapting practitioners' interviewing strategies to match children's developmental levels. To reach this aim, researchers may benefit from taking into account the concerns raised by forensic child interviewers.

Investigative Interviews with Suspects and Witnesses: A Survey of Perceptions and Interview Practices Among Malaysian Police

“…However, the use of anatomical dolls appears to be prevalent in practice according to the current data. Practitioners often report specific barriers relating to forensic interviews with very young children and the necessity to modify existing protocols, which signifies a need for additional guidelines for this age group (Magnusson et al 2020). To be able to come up with standardised guidelines that are empirically validated and fit for purpose, researchers should take into account concerns raised by investigative interviewers.…”

Preschoolers’ true and false reports: Comparing effects of the Sequential Interview and NICHD protocol

“…Concerns regarding fatigue effects were also recently reported by forensic child interviewers, who described a need to abbreviate the pre-substantive phase of the NICHD protocol when interviewing preschoolers (Magnusson, Ernberg, Landström, & Akehurst, 2020). Since both the SI and the revised NICHD protocol (Lamb et al, 2018) advocates for increased early rapport building, further investigation is needed on the effects of different rapport-building strategies during interviews with young children (Saywitz et al, 2015).…”

“…Considering that legal practitioners have described cases involving preschoolers as particularly challenging Magnusson, Ernberg, Landström, & Akehurst, 2020), greater efforts are needed to ensure that current interview guidelines are applicable to this group of young, vulnerable witnesses.…”

“…On the one hand, increased rapport‐building activities may help children feel more at ease, which could have positive effects on their productivity and accuracy (Saywitz et al, 2015). On the other hand, the prolonged interviewing time might lead to fatigue and inattention, which could lead to shorter or more erroneous statements by the preschoolers (Magnusson, Ernberg, Landström, & Akehurst, 2020). Furthermore, extended rapport building may make children more comfortable correcting the interviewer and more resistant to suggestive influence (Saywitz et al, 2015).…”

The effects of drawing on preschoolers' statements about experienced and non‐experienced events

“…Furthermore, we asked children to draw a person, which differs from previous studies in which children have typically been asked to draw “what happened.” Although the choice of this procedure was led by practical reasons (to focus the children's recall on the second actor in Study I), the practice of asking children to draw specific persons is currently implemented in, for example, the Norwegian child interviewing guidelines as a method for approaching the topic of concern with preschool‐aged children (Langballe & Davik, 2017). Specialized forensic interviewers from other countries have also reported that they occasionally ask children to draw persons during investigative interviews (e.g., in Sweden, see Magnusson, Ernberg, Landström, & Akehurst, 2020, and the UK, see Mattison & Dando, 2020). The current results should therefore be of relevance from a practical perspective.…”