Using an AI-based avatar for interviewer training at Children's Advocacy Centers: Proof of Concept

This proof-of- concept study focused on interviewers' behaviors and perceptions when interacting with a dynamic AI child avatar alleging abuse. Professionals (N = 68) took part in a virtual reality (VR) study in which they questioned an avatar presented as a child victim of sexual or physical abuse. Of interest was how interviewers questioned the avatar, how productive the child avatar was in response, and how interviewers perceived the VR interaction. Findings suggested alignment between interviewers' virtual questioning approaches and interviewers' typical questioning behavior in real-world investigative interviews, with a diverse range of questions used to elicit disclosures from the child avatar. The avatar responded to most question types as children typically do, though more nuanced programming of the avatar's productivity in response to complex question types is needed. Participants rated the avatar positively and felt comfortable with the VR experience. Results underscored the potential of AI-based interview training as a scalable, standardized alternative to traditional methods.

Enhancing investigative interview training using a child avatar system: a comparative study of interactive environments

The impact of investigative interviews by police and Child Protective Services (CPS) on abused children can be profound, making effective training vital. Quality in these interviews often falls short and current training programs are insufficient in enabling adherence to best practice. We present a system for simulating an interactive environment with alleged abuse victims using a child avatar. The purpose of the system is to improve the quality of investigative interviewing by providing a realistic and engaging training experience for police and CPS personnel. We conducted a user study to assess the efficacy of four interactive platforms: VR, 2D desktop, audio, and text chat. CPS workers and child welfare students rated the quality of experience (QoE), realism, responsiveness, immersion, and flow. We also evaluated perceived learning impact, engagement in learning, self-efficacy, and alignment with best practice guidelines. Our findings indicate VR as superior in four out of five quality aspects, with 66% participants favoring it for immersive, realistic training. Quality of questions posed is crucial to these interviews. Distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate questions, we achieved 87% balanced accuracy in providing effective feedback using our question classification model. Furthermore, CPS professionals demonstrated superior interview quality compared to non-professionals, independent of the platform.

A field assessment of child abuse investigators' engagement with a child-avatar to develop interviewing skills

BACKGROUND

Child investigative interviewing is a complex skill requiring specialised training. A critical training element is practice. Simulations with digital avatars are cost-effective options for delivering training. This study of real-world data provides novel insights evaluating a large number of trainees' engagement with LiveSimulation (LiveSim), an online child-avatar that involves a trainee selecting a question (i.e., an option-tree) and the avatar responding with the level of detail appropriate for the question type. While LiveSim has been shown to facilitate learning of open-ended questions, its utility (from a user engagement perspective) remains to be examined.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated trainees' engagement with LiveSim, focusing on patterns of interaction (e.g., amount), appropriateness of the prompt structure, and the programme's technical compatibility.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Professionals (N = 606, mainly child protection workers and police) being offered the avatar as part of an intensive course on how to interview a child conducted between 2009 and 2018.

METHODS

For descriptive analysis, Visual Basic for Applications coding in Excel was applied to evaluate engagement and internal attributes of LiveSim. A compatibility study of the programme was run testing different hardware focusing on access and function.

RESULTS

The trainees demonstrated good engagement with the programme across a variety of measures, including number and timing of activity completions. Overall, knowing the utility of avatars, our results provide strong support for the notion that a technically simple avatar like LiveSim awake user engagement. This is important knowledge in further development of learning simulations using next-generation technology.

AI avatar tells you what happened: The first test of using AI-operated children in simulated interviews to train investigative interviewers

Previous research has shown that simulated child sexual abuse (CSA) interview training using avatars paired with feedback and modeling improves interview quality. However, to make this approach scalable, the classification of interviewer questions needs to be automated. We tested an automated question classification system for these avatar interviews while also providing automated interventions (feedback and modeling) to improve interview quality. Forty-two professionals conducted two simulated CSA interviews online and were randomly provided with no intervention, feedback, or modeling after the first interview. Feedback consisted of the outcome of the alleged case and comments on the quality of the interviewer's questions. Modeling consisted of learning points and videos illustrating good and bad questioning methods. The total percentage of agreement in question coding between human operators and the automated classification was 72% for the main categories (recommended vs. not recommended) and 52% when 11 subcategories were considered. The intervention groups improved from first to second interview while this was not the case in the no intervention group (intervention x time: p = 0.007, ηp 2 = 0.28). Automated question classification worked well for classifying the interviewers' questions allowing interventions to improve interview quality.

False denials increase false memories for trauma-related discussions

False denials are sometimes used to cope with traumatic experiences. We examined whether false denials can affect true and false memory production for a traumatic event and conversations surrounding the trauma. One hundred and twenty-six participants watched a trauma analogue video of a car crash before being randomly asked in a discussion with the experimenter to (1) respond honestly or (2) falsely deny that certain details happened in the video. After one week, all participants received misinformation about the discussion with the experimenter and the car crash. Finally, all participants were instructed to respond truthfully in a source memory task. Participants who falsely denied information during the first session were statistically significantly more prone than honest participants to omit details they denied and to report misinformation about what was discussed in the first session. Our work suggests that false denials of a traumatic experience might lead to both forgetting and increased false memory levels for earlier conversations about the event.

An overview of mock interviews as a training tool for interviewers of children

Mock (simulated) interviews can be used as a safe context for trainee interviewers to learn and practice questioning skills. When mock interviews are designed to reflect the body of scientific evidence on how questioning skills are best learned, research has demonstrated that interviewers acquire relevant and enduring skills. Despite the importance of this exercise in learning interview skill and its prevalence as a learning tool in other fields such as medicine and allied health, there has been relatively little discussion about mock interviews from an educational perspective in investigative interview training. This paper addresses that gap by providing the first comprehensive overview of the way mock interviews have been used in training interviewers of children. We describe the research that supports their utility, and the various ways they can be implemented in training: providing insight to learners; allowing opportunities for practice, feedback, and discussion; and as a standardized way to assess skill change over time. The paper also includes an overview of the cutting-edge use of avatars in mock interviews to enhance efficiency, provide unique learning experiences, and ultimately reduce training costs. We explain why avatars may be particularly useful in basic training, freeing up human trainers to facilitate mock interviews around advanced topics and discussion.

Eliciting an offence narrative: what types of questions do forensic mental health practitioners ask?

Maximising the accuracy and detail of information elicited through a clinical-forensic interview may increase the reliability and validity of an individual's assessment. Despite this, there is little empirical research on what questions forensic mental health practitioners employ, and whether these correspond with empirically established interviewing strategies. In this study, 22 forensic mental health practitioners participated in a mock interview of a young person referred for a sexual risk assessment. The results highlighted that participants asked very few 'open' questions, over-relied on 'specific' questions and an average of 13% of questions were leading. Finally, practitioners predominantly used 'yes/no' questions when exploring the young person's thoughts, feelings, and physiological responses. Overall, the study demonstrated that empirically supported interviewing techniques were not commonly employed and highlighted the need for further professional development and training around clinical forensic interviewing strategies that best elicit the information needed to inform risk assessment.

Simulating denial increases false memory rates for abuse unrelated information

Victims of abuse might deny their traumatic experiences. We studied mnemonic effects of simulating false denial of a child sexual abuse narrative. Participants (N = 127) read and empathized with the main character of this narrative. Next, half were instructed to falsely deny abuse-related information while others responded honestly in an interview. One week later, participants received misinformation for the narrative and interview. In a final source memory task, participants' memory for the narrative and interview was tested. Participants who falsely denied abuse-related information endorsed more abuse-unrelated misinformation about the event than honest participants. Abuse-related false memory rates did not statistically differ between the groups, and false denials were not related to omission errors about (1) the interview and (2) narrative. Hence, victim's memory for abuse-related information related to their experience might not be affected by a false denial, and inconsistencies surrounding the abuse-unrelated information are more likely to take place.

The combination of feedback and modeling in online simulation training of child sexual abuse interviews improves interview quality in clinical psychologists

BACKGROUND

Previous research has shown the effectiveness of simulation training using avatars paired with feedback in improving child sexual abuse interview quality. However, it has room for improvement.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to determine if the combination of two interventions, feedback and modeling, would further improve interview quality compared to either intervention alone.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-two clinical psychologists were randomly assigned to a feedback, modeling, or the combination of feedback and modeling group.

METHODS

The participants conducted five simulated child sexual abuse interviews online while receiving the intervention(s) corresponding to their allocated group. Feedback was provided after each interview and consisted of the outcome of the alleged cases and comments on the quality of the questions asked in the interviews. Modeling was provided after the 1st interview and consisted of learning points and videos illustrating good and bad questioning methods.

RESULTS

The proportion of recommended questions improved over the five interviews when considering all groups combined. The combined intervention (vs. feedback alone) showed a higher proportion of recommended questions from the 2nd interview onward while the difference between the combined intervention and modeling alone and the difference between the modeling alone and feedback alone were mostly not significant. The number of correct details were affected in the same way. No significant differences in the number of incorrect details were found.

CONCLUSIONS

The results show that the combination of feedback and modeling achieves improvement greater than that of feedback alone.

Interventions for improving medical students' interpersonal communication in medical consultations

BACKGROUND

Communication is a common element in all medical consultations, affecting a range of outcomes for doctors and patients. The increasing demand for medical students to be trained to communicate effectively has seen the emergence of interpersonal communication skills as core graduate competencies in medical training around the world. Medical schools have adopted a range of approaches to develop and evaluate these competencies.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of interventions for medical students that aim to improve interpersonal communication in medical consultations.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched five electronic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and ERIC (Educational Resource Information Centre) in September 2020, with no language, date, or publication status restrictions. We also screened reference lists of relevant articles and contacted authors of included studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster-RCTs (C-RCTs), and non-randomised controlled trials (quasi-RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of interventions delivered to students in undergraduate or graduate-entry medical programmes. We included studies of interventions aiming to improve medical students' interpersonal communication during medical consultations. Included interventions targeted communication skills associated with empathy, relationship building, gathering information, and explanation and planning, as well as specific communication tasks such as listening, appropriate structure, and question style.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Two review authors independently reviewed all search results, extracted data, assessed the risk of bias of included studies, and rated the quality of evidence using GRADE.

MAIN RESULTS

We found 91 publications relating to 76 separate studies (involving 10,124 students): 55 RCTs, 9 quasi-RCTs, 7 C-RCTs, and 5 quasi-C-RCTs. We performed meta-analysis according to comparison and outcome. Among both effectiveness and comparative effectiveness analyses, we separated outcomes reporting on overall communication skills, empathy, rapport or relationship building, patient perceptions/satisfaction, information gathering, and explanation and planning. Overall communication skills and empathy were further divided as examiner- or simulated patient-assessed. The overall quality of evidence ranged from moderate to very low, and there was high, unexplained heterogeneity. Overall, interventions had positive effects on most outcomes, but generally small effect sizes and evidence quality limit the conclusions that can be drawn. Communication skills interventions in comparison to usual curricula or control may improve both overall communication skills (standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 1.31; 18 studies, 1356 participants; I² = 90%; low-quality evidence) and empathy (SMD 0.64, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.05; 6 studies, 831 participants; I² = 86%; low-quality evidence) when assessed by experts, but not by simulated patients. Students' skills in information gathering probably also improve with educational intervention (SMD 1.07, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.54; 5 studies, 405 participants; I² = 78%; moderate-quality evidence), but there may be little to no effect on students' rapport (SMD 0.18, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.51; 9 studies, 834 participants; I² = 81%; low-quality evidence), and effects on information giving skills are uncertain (very low-quality evidence). We are uncertain whether experiential interventions improve overall communication skills in comparison to didactic approaches (SMD 0.08, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.19; 4 studies, 1578 participants; I² = 4%; very low-quality evidence). Electronic learning approaches may have little to no effect on students' empathy scores (SMD -0.13, 95% CI -0.68 to 0.43; 3 studies, 421 participants; I² = 82%; low-quality evidence) or on rapport (SMD 0.02, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.38; 3 studies, 176 participants; I² = 19%; moderate-quality evidence) compared to face-to-face approaches. There may be small negative effects of electronic interventions on information giving skills (low-quality evidence), and effects on information gathering skills are uncertain (very low-quality evidence).  Personalised/specific feedback probably improves overall communication skills to a small degree in comparison to generic or no feedback (SMD 0.58, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.87; 6 studies, 502 participants; I² = 56%; moderate-quality evidence). There may be small positive effects of personalised feedback on empathy and information gathering skills (low quality), but effects on rapport are uncertain (very low quality), and we found no evidence on information giving skills. We are uncertain whether role-play with simulated patients outperforms peer role-play in improving students' overall communication skills (SMD 0.17, 95% CI -0.33 to 0.67; 4 studies, 637 participants; I² = 87%; very low-quality evidence). There may be little to no difference between effects of simulated patient and peer role-play on students' empathy (low-quality evidence) with no evidence on other outcomes for this comparison. Descriptive syntheses of results that could not be included in meta-analyses across outcomes and comparisons were mixed, as were effects of different interventions and comparisons on specific communication skills assessed by the included trials. Quality of evidence was downgraded due to methodological limitations across several risk of bias domains, high unexplained heterogeneity, and imprecision of results. In general, results remain consistent in sensitivity analysis based on risk of bias and adjustment for clustering. No adverse effects were reported.  AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This review represents a substantial body of evidence from which to draw, but further research is needed to strengthen the quality of the evidence base, to consider the long-term effects of interventions on students' behaviour as they progress through training and into practice, and to assess effects of interventions on patient outcomes. Efforts to standardise assessment and evaluation of interpersonal skills will strengthen future research efforts.

Interviews of Children in a Portuguese Special Judicial Procedure

Since 2007, alleged victims of child sexual abuse in Portugal have provided evidence in a mandatory "Declarações para Memória Futura" (DMF; English transl. 'Statement for future use') proceeding. In order to protect children from having to testify in court, interviews conducted at the DMF can be used later as trial evidence because the hearings are conducted by judges. The present study examined 137 interviews with 3- to 17-year-olds conducted in several Portuguese criminal courts. Detailed examination of interview transcripts showed that 69% of all questions asked were option-posing questions, 16% were directive questions, 11% were suggestive questions, and only 3% were open-ended prompts. The vast majority of details provided by children were thus obtained using the risky recognition-based prompts (i.e., option posing and suggestive questions) associated with the risks of contaminating and limiting children's informativeness, both potential threats to the credibility of their testimony. There is an urgent need to address this issue and consider the implementation of a scientifically validated structured interview protocol in Portugal. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Investigative Interviewers' Perceptions of Their Difficulty in Adhering to Open-Ended Questions with Child Witnesses

Best practice guidelines for conducting investigative interviews of children emphasise the importance of obtaining free narrative accounts with the use of open-ended questions. However, research indicates that most investigative interviewers underutilise open-ended questions, even following intensive training in their use. The aim of the current study was to explore investigative interviewers' perceptions of their difficulty in asking open-ended questions. During a training course on how to use open-ended questions, eight child abuse investigators were individually interviewed about why they had asked specific questions in a 10-minute mock interview conducted immediately earlier with a school child. Overall, three reasons were identified. These related to: 1. the specificity of the information required from children; 2. the unfamiliar nature of the open-ended discourse style; and 3. the complex distinction between open-ended versus specific questions. Each of these themes is discussed, along with the implications for trainers and researchers in child investigative interviewing.

Impact of Repeated Questioning on Interviewers: Learning From a Forensic Interview Training Project

Forensic interviewers have a difficult job with high risk for career burnout and secondary trauma. Few studies have addressed how new forensic interviewers or trainees experience repeated questioning and multiple interviews. This study simulated the process of training new forensic interviewers through the creation of two interview videos in which social work graduate students participated as actors portraying the roles of interviewer and child. These films served as instructional aids preparing graduate social work students for professional child welfare roles while promoting research-based approaches to interviewing children about sexual abuse allegations. Qualitative data from two cohorts of student actors were collected to analyze interviewers' perspectives on repeated questioning and interviews in child sexual abuse cases. Two themes were extracted from the subjects' experiences: "It is emotionally taxing" and "Navigating the interviewer role is unexpectedly complex." Exposure to repeated questions and multiple interviews affected the performance and confidence of the interviewers.

Organisational challenges to delivering child investigative interviewer training via e-learning

This article examined organisational challenges arising from the implementation of a new training course for investigative interviewers of vulnerable witnesses. The course was delivered via e-learning (computer exercises) and also involved mock interviews conducted over the telephone. Thematic analysis was conducted of: (a) trainees’ anonymous written feedback submitted to an online discussion forum on the training programme’s website, (b) trainees’ responses to face-to-face questions during semi-structured qualitative interviews, and (c) correspondence between trainees and trainers regarding the training programme. Despite unanimous support for the new training programme, three challenges were identified: limited allocated work time to complete the training, conflicting work practices arising from staggered course enrolment, and difficulties associated with computer and technical skills. These organisational challenges must be addressed to ensure that any future evaluation of the programme on skill performance provides a true indication of the programme’s impact on skill development. From a managerial perspective, organisational challenges need to be addressed in order to maximise the accessibility, completion and long-term success of an e-learning training model for interviewers.

The NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol: A Meta-Analytic Review

Systematic review and meta-analysis of literature were conducted examining the effectiveness of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Investigative Interview Protocol in improving the quality of child forensic interviews. Online databases were searched for journal articles published between the years 2000 and 2013. Measures of interview quality were the type of interviewer utterances and the amount of information provided by children. Five studies met criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Weighted mean of the effect sizes was calculated for each outcome measure. Protocol interviews had more invitations (g = 1.60) and fewer option-posing (g = -.95) and suggestive prompts (g = -.63) than standard interviews. Children interviewed by the protocol provided more central details (g = .90) in response to invitations than controls. Meta-analyses of a subset of preschool children samples revealed that protocol interviews had more invitations (g = 1.46), fewer suggestive prompts (g = -.61), and fewer option-posing prompts (g = -1.05) than controls. Findings corroborate results from previous studies that suggested the benefits of the protocol on the interviewers' performance and on children's informativeness. However, protocol did not show the same performance with regard to preschool children.

Repeated Self- and Peer-Review Leads to Continuous Improvement in Child Interviewing Performance

The present study examined whether a training model that focuses on consistent exposure to protocol procedure, self-evaluation, and intensive peer-review sessions could improve interviewers' ability to adhere to best practices. Law students (N = 19) interviewed 5- to 10-year-old children on a weekly basis as part of a semester-long forensic child interviewing class. They transcribed their interviews, and participated in one-hour self and peer-reviews. The proportion of each question type was calculated (option-posing, Wh-, and open-invitations) within each interview for each interviewer. Across ten weeks of interviews, interviewers consistently improved their performance, decreasing the proportion of option-posing questions by 31% and increasing the proportion of open-invitations by 47%. All interviewers improved. The present study suggests that with consistent self-evaluation and peer-review, forensic interviewers can incrementally improve their performance.

Strategies to promote uptake and use of intimate partner violence and child maltreatment knowledge: an integrative review

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and child maltreatment (CM) are major social and public health problems. Knowledge translation (KT) of best available research evidence has been suggested as a strategy to improve the care of those exposed to violence, however research on how best to promote the uptake and use of IPV and CM evidence for policy and practice is limited. Our research asked: 1) What is the extent of IPV/CM-specific KT research? 2) What KT strategies effectively translate IPV/CM knowledge? and 3) What are the barriers and facilitators relevant to translating IPV/CM-specific knowledge?

METHODS

We conducted an integrative review to summarize and synthesize the available evidence regarding IPV/CM-specific KT research. We employed multiple search methods, including database searches of Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts, and Medline (through April, 2013). Eligibility and quality assessments for each article were conducted by at least two team members. Included articles were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and qualitatively using descriptive content analysis.

RESULTS

Of 1230 identified articles, 62 were included in the review, including 5 review articles. KT strategies were generally successful at improving various knowledge/attitude and behavioural/behavioural intention outcomes, but the heterogeneity among KT strategies, recipients, study designs and measured outcomes made it difficult to draw specific conclusions. Four key themes were identified: existing measurement tools and promising/effective KT strategies are underused, KT efforts are rarely linked to health-related outcomes for those exposed to violence, there is a lack of evidence regarding the long-term effectiveness of KT interventions, and authors' inferences about barriers, facilitators, and effective/ineffective KT strategies are often not supported by data. The emotional and sometimes contested nature of the knowledge appears to be an important barrier unique to IPV/CM KT.

CONCLUSIONS

To direct future KT in this area, we present a guiding framework that highlights the need for implementers to use/adapt promising KT strategies that carefully consider contextual factors, including the fact that content in IPV/CM may be more difficult to engage with than other health topics. The framework also provides guidance regarding use of measurement tools and designs to more effectively evaluate and report on KT efforts.

The cognitive interview buffers the effects of subsequent repeated questioning in the absence of negative feedback

The Cognitive Interview (CI) is known to elicit high-quality information from cooperative witnesses. The present study examined whether the CI protects against two suggestive interview techniques: repeated questioning and negative feedback. Young adults (n = 98) watched one of two crime videos and were interviewed with either a CI or free recall. One week later, a second interviewer asked answerable questions (about information in the video) and unanswerable questions (about information not in the video). Half of the participants received negative feedback about their performance. All participants were then asked the questions a second time. The CI resulted in more correct responses to answerable questions and fewer errors to unanswerable questions at the first questioning. The CI produced the highest consistency for answerable questions in the face of repeated questioning in the absence of negative feedback, and resulted in the most changes in responses to answerable questions when negative feedback was applied. No effects were found for unanswerable questions. The CI protected against repeated questioning, but only in the absence of negative feedback.

Explaining the unexplainable: designing a national strategy on classroom communication concerning the 22 July terror attack in Norway

BACKGROUND

In the context of crisis and disasters, school-aged children are a vulnerable group with fewer coping resources than adults. The school is a key arena for preventive interventions; teachers can be given a key role in large-scale school-based interventions following a man-made or natural disaster.

OBJECTIVES

This paper describes a practical example of designing a school-based population-level intervention.

METHODS

The preventive measures were delivered as a national communication strategy between teachers and pupils aged 6-19 concerning the terror attack on 22 July 2011 in Norway. The strategy is based on principles from international research.

RESULTS

The presentation contributes to the discussion of defining the teacher's role in school-based crisis interventions and dealing with high-intensity media coverage of war, terror, and catastrophes.

CONCLUSIONS

THE PRESENTATION PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HOW TEACHERS CAN TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN HELPING PUPILS TO DEAL WITH SUCH EVENTS THROUGH TWO APPROACHES: the therapeutic approach, to restore calm and feelings of safety; and the educational approach, to foster reflection and deeper understanding.

The effect of using trained versus untrained adult respondents in simulated practice interviews about child abuse

OBJECTIVE

A single study tested the hypothesis that simulated practice interviews for investigative interviewers of children are more effective when the role of the child respondent is played by trained actors (i.e., postgraduate psychology students) than untrained fellow participants (i.e., child protection workers).

METHOD

The interviewers included 50 child protection service workers. Each interviewer received instruction in the use of open-ended questions and then engaged in two simulated practice interviews. The role of the child respondent in the practice interviews was played by either a trained psychology student or an untrained fellow participant. The key outcome measure was the proportion of open-ended questions, which was assessed immediately prior to and after the practice sessions, as well as 12 weeks post-training.

RESULTS

Interviewers who had practiced with trained actors had higher post-training performance (M=.83, SD=.12) compared to those who had practiced with untrained fellow participants (M=.73, SD=.13, p<.05), even at the 12-week follow up (M actors=.66, SD=.25; M untrained actors=.49, SD=.23, p<.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Training programs that make better use of practice opportunities (e.g., by using trained respondents) will be more effective in improving the performance of investigative interviewers.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

A single study investigated the relative effectiveness of two simulated practice exercises for professionals who interview children about abuse. This research is relevant to professionals who design investigative interviewer training programs because it indicates that practical exercises, which are currently chosen on an 'ad hoc' or convenience basis, can vary markedly in their effectiveness in encouraging adherence to open questions.

The effect of intra- versus post-interview feedback during simulated practice interviews about child abuse

OBJECTIVE

This study compared the effectiveness of two types of instructor feedback (relative to no feedback) on investigative interviewers' ability to adhere to open-ended questions in simulated practice interviews about child abuse.

METHOD

In one condition, feedback was provided at the end of each practice interview. In the other, the instructor stopped the interviewer at various stages during the practice interviews to provide feedback. The relative effect of these conditions was examined by measuring interviewers' performance in a standardized mock interview paradigm immediately prior to, immediately after, and 12 weeks after the practice and feedback sessions.

RESULTS

Prior to and 12 weeks after the practice sessions were administered, there was no significant difference in participants' adherence to open-ended questions irrespective of the nature of the feedback, or whether feedback was received. At the immediate post-practice assessment interval, however, the participants who received feedback during the practice interviews performed better (M proportion of open-ended questions=.85, SD=.13) than the other participants (post-interview feedback M=.67, SD=.18, p<.001; no feedback M=.56, SD=.16, p<.001). This heightened use of open-ended questions was associated with a greater tendency among the interviewees to provide abuse-related details in response to open-ended questions (M=.91, SD=.11) compared to the other participants (post-interview feedback M=.77, SD=.15, p<.05; no feedback M=.69, SD=.16, p=.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Different types of feedback can be differentially effective in training child abuse investigators to adhere to open-ended questions. The benefits of any training program, however, are likely to be short-lived without ongoing practice.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

A single study compared the relative effectiveness of two types of instructor feedback (relative to no feedback) on investigative interviewers' ability to adhere to open-ended questions in simulated practice interviews about child abuse. This research is relevant to trainers of investigative interviewers because there is currently large variability in the type of feedback employed in training programs. This study is one of the first to empirically demonstrate that different types of feedback may be differentially effective in improving the performance of investigative interviewers.

A structured forensic interview protocol improves the quality and informativeness of investigative interviews with children: a review of research using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol

OBJECTIVE

To show how the results of research on children's memory, communicative skills, social knowledge, and social tendencies can be translated into guidelines that improve the quality of forensic interviews of children.

METHOD

We review studies designed to evaluate children's capacities as witnesses, explain the development of the structured NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol, and discuss studies designed to assess whether use of the Protocol enhances the quality of investigative interviews.

RESULTS

Controlled studies have repeatedly shown that the quality of interviewing reliably and dramatically improves when interviewers employ the NICHD Protocol. No other technique has been proven to be similarly effective.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of the structured NICHD Protocol improves the quality of information obtained from alleged victims by investigators, thereby increasing the likelihood that interventions will be appropriate.

Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse

A number (n = 27) of investigative interviews with children were analyzed with a view to explore the verbal dynamics between interviewer and child. Different types of interviewer utterances and child responses were defined, and the interrelationships between these were explored. The effectiveness of different interviewer utterances in eliciting information from children as well as the type of utterance the interviewer used to follow up an informative answer by the child were investigated. Option-posing and suggestive utterances made up for more than 50% of interviewer utterances, the proportion of invitations being only 2%. Invitations and directive utterances were associated with an increase in informative responses by the child, the adverse being true for option-posing and suggestive utterances. Interestingly, even after the child had provided an informative answer, interviewers continued to rely on focused and leading interviewing methods--in spite of a slight improvement in interviewing behavior.

Criminal investigations of child abuse: the research behind "best practices"

This article reviews the research relevant to seven practices considered by many to be among the most progressive approaches to criminal child abuse investigations: multidisciplinary team investigations, trained child forensic interviewers, videotaped interviews, specialized forensic medical examiners, victim advocacy programs, improved access to mental health treatment for victims, and Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs). The review finds that despite the popularity of these practices, little outcome research is currently available documenting their success. However, preliminary research supports many of these practices or has influenced their development. Knowledge of this research can assist investigators and policy makers who want to improve the response to victims, understand the effectiveness of particular programs, or identify where assumptions about effectiveness are not empirically supported.

Reconceptualizing Children's Suggestibility: Bidirectional and Temporal Properties

Forty-one children (3 to 7 years) were exposed to a staged event and later interviewed by 1 of 41 professional interviewers. All interviews were coded with a detailed, mutually exclusive, and exhaustive coding scheme capturing adult behaviors (leading questions vs. neutral) and child behaviors (acquiescence vs. denial) in a temporally organized manner. Overall, interviewers' use of leading questions did not result in increased acquiescence as previously found. However, one specific type of leading question (i.e., inaccurate misleading) was followed by acquiescence. Lagged sequential analyses showed that it was possible to predict directly from child-to-child behavior, effectively skipping the intervening adult behavior. This result raises questions about the current conceptualization that suggestibility is driven by adult behaviors.

Interviewing youthful suspects in alleged sex crimes: a descriptive analysis

OBJECTIVE

To introduce and evaluate a structured interview protocol designed for investigative interviews of youthful alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

METHOD

Seventy-two alleged perpetrators ranging from 9 to 14 years of age (M = 12 years) were interviewed by 1 of 13 experienced youth investigators, employed by the Israeli Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, about incidents that had been reported by alleged victims. All interviews were conducted as part of the investigators' regular work and followed the structured interview guide appended to this article.

RESULTS

Interviewers questioned older and younger children similarly, but addressed fewer invitations, directive questions, and option-posing prompts to suspects who denied the allegations than to those who partially or fully admitted them. The total number of details provided by the suspects did not vary depending on their age or whether or not they fully or partially admitted the allegations. In both cases, more information was elicited using invitations rather than suggestive or option-posing prompts.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to expectations, suspects who at least partially admitted their involvement provided considerable amounts of information and were very responsive to free recall prompts, although interviewers used more risky (potentially error-inducing) prompts when interviewing suspects rather than alleged victims.