very important that the interviewer attempt to ensure that the interview is free of
leading questions. To be able to detect possible influences caused by suggestive questions
during the interview, it is highly recommended that all interviews of this nature be
video recorded.
There are five types of questions interviewers generally use: general questions, focused
questions, multiple-choice questions, yes-no questions, and leading questions [4].
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General questions can be used as opening questions with adults and teenagers. For
example, asking an alleged victim, “Tell me why you came to see me today?” would prob-
ably prompt an answer concerning an alleged crime of sexual assault or rape. However,
with a younger child, these types of general questions would not result in useful answers.
A better question for this population would be, “Did anyone tell you why you were coming
to see me today?” [4]
Clinical experience suggests that in interviews of children concerning alleged sexual
abuse, focused questions are optimal. Focused questions often elicit relevant information,
but they are not leading. There are three types of focused questions: questions focused on
people, questions focused on the circumstances of the abuse, and questions focused on
body parts [4].
Questions focused on persons will include questions about the alleged offender. It is a
good strategy to begin by asking questions that will not be difficult. Thus, focused ques-
tions might first be asked about siblings, then about the mother, and finally about the
alleged offender. A series of focused questions about an alleged offender might be the fol-
lowing [4]:
“Where does Joe (mother’s boyfriend) live?”
“What kind of things does he do with the family?”
“Are there things he does especially with you?”
“Are there things Joe does that you like?”
“Are there any things he does that you don’t like?”
“Does he ever do anything with you that you don’t like?”
There are two types of focused questions about the possible circumstances of the sexual
abuse that many interviewers use: “Are there any secrets in your family?” and “Does
ever play games with you?” Children are often told that the sexual abuse is a special
secret between themselves and the offender. Alternatively, offenders may induce children’s
cooperation or normalize the behavior by defining the victimization as a game [4].
Based on case facts, other focused questions may be [4]:
“What do you do when Grandpa babysits?”
“How does Daddy take care of you when Mom is at work?”
“What happens when you are in the bath?”
Multiple-choice questions may be employed when focused questions fail to elicit the nec-
essary information. The interviewer must consider that young children may have difficulty
with this format, and they will have more difficulty the more options they are given. Sec-
ond, interviewers must be sure to include a correct response, so that the child is not given
the choice between two or more incorrect responses. Third, it is advisable to limit the use of
multiple-choice questions to the circumstances of the sexual abuse and, if possible, not to
use them to ask about the abuse itself. For example, the interviewer might ask: “Do you
remember if you were wearing your day clothes or your night clothes?” Multiple-choice
questions could possibly be leading, and therefore are not advisable. For example, asking:
“Was it your dad, your stepdad, both, or someone else who hurt your butt?” would be
incorrect [4].
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213
“Yes-no” questions are generally used in investigative interviews with children
only when more open-ended questions are not productive, but the possibility of abuse
having occurred remains. These types of questions may elicit “social desirability”
responses, especially in young children. Another problem with this type of question is
that a child may not understand the question and nevertheless answer with a “yes” or
“no” [4].
Leading questions such as, “Your father put his privates in your mouth, didn’t he?”
should not be used in an interview with a child or mentally challenged person, because
again it could result in an incorrect response due to “social desirability.” Interrogations
using leading questions also must be used with caution, and information that only the
guilty party would have should be withheld and later elicited to ensure that a false admis-
sion was not given.
A study performed by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, in Bethesda, Maryland, resulted in a special interview format called the
NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol [5]. Although this protocol was designed with children in mind, it appears to also lend itself to developing information from a mentally defi-
cient interviewee.
The protocol ensures that the interviewer uses the proper steps in obtaining optimal
information by:
1. Properly introducing himself or herself.
2. Developing rapport with the child.
3. Establishing the purpose of the interview.
4. Establishing that the child is willing to talk to the interviewer.
5. Establishing that the child understands they do not have to know the answer to every
question.
6. Establishing that the child knows the difference between telling the truth and lying.
7. Establishing that they understand they can correct the interviewer if they feel the
interviewer says something that is not true.
8. Utilizing investigative questions that do not influence the quality and accuracy of the
information obtained.
Look over the following NICHD Protocol for Investigative Interviews of Alleged Sex-
abuse Victims (Version 3.0), Michael E. Lamb, Kathleen J. Sternberg, Phillip W. Esplin, Irit
Hershkowitz, and Yael Orbach:
I. “Hello, my name is
. I am a youth investigator and part of my job is
to talk to children about things that have happened to them.
As you can see, I have a tape recorder here. It will record our conversation so I can remember
everything that you tell me. Sometimes I forget things and the tape recorder allows me to listen to
you without having to write everything down.
I meet with lots of children and during our discussions they tell me the truth about things that
have happened to them. I want to make sure you know what the difference is between a truth
and a lie: If I were to say for example that my shoes were blue (or red, or green), is that the truth
or a lie?”
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12. INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AND THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED
(Wait for a response)
“Yes, that would be a lie because my shoes are really black/blue, etc. And if, for example, I was to
say to you that you and I met yesterday, would that be a truth or a lie?”
(Wait for a response)
“Yes, that would be a lie, because we did not meet yesterday. I can see you understand the differ-
ence between telling the truth and telling a lie. It is very important that you only tell me the truth
today. Yo
u should only tell me things that really happened to you.”
(Wait for a response)
“If I ask a question you do not understand, or that you do not know the answer to, just tell me, “I
don’t know.” If I say things that are wrong, you should correct me. Okay? For example, if I said you
were a six year old girl (to a 10 year old boy) what would you say?”
(Wait for a response)
“That’s right. Now you understand that you can correct me if I make a mistake or say something
wrong.”
II. “Now, I want to get to know you a little better. Tell me a little bit about your family.”
(Wait for a response)
If the child does not answer, gives a short answer, or gets stuck, you can ask:
1. “I really want to get to know you better, what else can you tell me about yourself?”
(Wait for a response)
2. “What else can you tell me about your family?”
(Wait for a response)
III. “You’ve told me about yourself and about your family, now I want to hear about
your school/nursery school. Tell me about some of the things you like to do in school
and about some of the things you do not like to do.”
(Wait for a response)
If the child does not answer, gives a short answer, or gets stuck, you can ask:
1. “What else can you tell me about school?”
(Wait for a response)
2. “Tell me about your teacher.”
12. INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AND THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED
215
(Wait for a response)
3. “Tell me about the children in your class.”
(Wait for a response)
IV. “A few days ago (or, a few weeks ago), was (a holiday). Tell me how you celebrated
(the holiday).”
(Wait for a response)
1. “I want you to tell me about (another holiday, or birthday party).”
“Think again about the (holiday, or birthday party). I want you to tell me what happened from the
time you woke up until the time you went to sleep that night.”
(Wait for a response)
If the child gets stuck, encourage the child by saying:
2. “What else can you tell me about
?” or “Tell me a little bit more about
?” or
“And then what happened?”
If the child stops, or gives a short answer, continue:
3. “I am interested in hearing how your
was. Try hard to help me understand
what happened from the time you woke up until you went to sleep that night.”
(Wait for a response)
If the child says for example, “We went to Grandma’s,” or “We opened presents,” say:
4. “Tell me everything that happened at Grandma’s (or when you were opening presents), every
detail from the minute you got there until you left.”
Wait for the child to finish then say:
“It sounds like you really had a great (party/holiday).”
V. “Now that we know each other a little better, I want to talk about the reason you are
here today.”
1. “Do you know why you are here today?”
(Wait for a response)
If the child makes a brief allegation, i.e.: “Uncle Bobby touched my pee pee” or “Uncle
Bobby is bothering me”), go to VI. If child does not make an allegation, ask:
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12. INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AND THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED
2. “Tell me the reason you came to talk to me today.”
(Wait for a response)
If the child makes a brief allegation go to VI. If child does not make an allegation, ask:
3. “I understand you told (Mom, Dad, Teacher, etc.) that someone has been bothering you. Tell
me what you told (Mom, Dad, Teacher, etc.)”
(Wait for a response)
If the child makes a brief allegation go to VI. If child does not make an allegation, ask:
4. “Does your (Mom, Dad, Teacher, etc.) think something happened to you?”
(Wait for a response)
“Tell me what (Mom, Dad, Teacher, etc.) is worried about.”
VI. Repeat the allegation (i.e.: “Okay, Uncle Bobby touched your pee pee” or “Okay,
your Mom thinks Uncle Bobby touched your pee pee”). Then say, “Tell me everything
that happened to you, from the very beginning to the very end, as best as you can remem-
ber it.”
If the child’s account is brief ask, “And then what happened?” or “What else can you tell me about
that?” You can use these prompts several times. After the child has finished proceed to VII.
VII. “Did that happen one time, or more than one time?”
If the child says, “One TIME,” probe further about the incident by drawing the child’s
attention back to salient detail mentioned by the child (the location, an element of the abuse,
clothing, etc.).
1. “Earlier you said something about (some cream, a stick, . . .), can you tell me everything about
that?”
Repeat this to get as many details or cues as possible, then go to VIII.
If the child says, “MANY TIMES,” ask:
2. “Tell me about the time you remember best. I want to understand what happened from the very
beginning to the very end.”
After the child has given a description of “the time best remembered” ask for additional
information using open questions like: “And then what happened?” or “What else can
you tell me about that?” Proceed asking questions using the strategy described in VII-1,
and then say:
12. INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AND THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED
217
3. “Tell me about the last time something happened. I want to understand from the very beginning
to the very end.”
After the child has given an account of the “last time,” ask for additional information using
open ended questions like: “And then what happened?” or “What else can you tell me about
that?” Proceed by asking questions using the strategy described in VII-1. Then say:
4. “Can you tell me about the very first time something happened, from the very beginning to the very
end?”
(Wait for a response) Finally ask:
5. “Is there another time you remember well? Tell me about that time, from the very beginning to
the very end?”
(Wait for a response)
After the child has given an account ask for additional information using open ended
questions like: “And then what happened?” or “What else can you tell me about that?” Pro-
ceed by asking questions using the strategy described in VII-1.
VIII. If crucial details about the incident (location, perpetrator’s identity or appearance)
are still lacking, ask for them at this stage. Use a direct question (“Were your clothes on
or off?”) and whenever possible follow it with an open-ended request for more information
(i.e.: “Tell me everything about how they came to be off.”).
IX. At the end of the interview, ask:
1. “Is there anything else I should know?”
(Wait for a response)
2. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
(Wait for a response)
3. “Are there any questions you want to ask me?”
(Wait for a response)
Before you finish the interview, say to the child:
4. “Thank you for telling me so much. It really helped me understand what happened. Now I am
going to take you back to (Mom, Dad, e
tc.). What are you going to do once the interview is over?
(Wait)
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12. INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AND THE MENTALLY CHALLENGED
5. “I assume you are very hungry!”
(Wait)
6. “What is your favorite food?”
(Wait)
7. “Do you eat a lot of it?”
(Wait)
Using these techniques, the authors have successfully interviewed numerous children
and mentally deficient individuals during their careers.
SUMMARY
• When interviewing children or mentally deficient individuals, the interviewer must
recognize that the language development and resources of these individuals will have an
effect on their ability to give a statement, as well as their ability to encode and recall an
experience.
• When interviewing someone from this population, the investigator must consider the
development of the interviewee when assessing the answers.
• The investigator should know that there are no behavioral manifestations that are
conclusive of sexual abuse in children.
• NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol is an excellent format designed with the child in
mind and appears to also lend itself to developing information from a mentally deficient
interviewee.
• The interviewer must take care not to lead these individuals or inadvertently taint their
statements.
• With patience and consideration, these interviews can be very successful and fruitful to
the investigative process.
References
[1] A.F. Greenhoot, P.A. Ornstein, B.N. Gordon, L. Baker Ward, Acting out the details of a pediatric check up: the impact of interview condition and behavioral style on children’s memory reports, Child Dev. 70 (1999) 363 380.
[2] Mental Retardation, A publication of the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, Fact Sheet 8 (FS8) January (2004).
[3] Institute of Child Health & Human Development, NIH News Alert, June 27 (2000).
[4] Child Welfare Information Gateway, Techniques for the Child Interview and a Methodology for Substantiating Sexual Abuse. Available at www.enotalone.com.
[5] Y. Robach, M.E. Lamb, K.J. Sternberg, P.W. Esplin, D. Horowitz, Assessing the value of structured protocols for forensic interviews of alleged child abuse victims, Child Abuse Negl. 24 (6) (2000) 733 752.
C H A P T E R
13
Report Writing
One of the most important skills an interviewer can have is the ability to effectively
Nathan J Gordon, William L Fleisher Page 31