RT Article
T1 Interviewers' approaches to questioning vulnerable child witnesses: the influences of developmental level versus intellectual disability status
JF Legal and criminological psychology
VO 22
IS 2
SP 332
OP 349
A1 Brown, Deirdre
A2 Lewis, Charlie 1954-
A2 Stephens, Emma
A2 Lamb, Michael E. 1953-
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1846566797
AB Purpose. Children with intellectual disabilities (CWIDs) are vulnerable to victimization, but we know little about how to interview them about possible maltreatment. We examined whether interviewers used proportionally more direct and option-posing, and fewer open questions, with CWID than with typically developing (TD) children or with less mature children regardless of disability, taking into account the contribution of the amount of information conveyed by the child. Method. One hundred and twelve children (4–12 years) participated in a staged event and were interviewed 1 week later using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol. We examined the proportions of different interview prompts posed to CWID of either mild (CWID-Mild) or moderate (CWID-Moderate) severity compared with typically developing children matched for chronological (CA) and mental (MA) age. Results. Even when controlling for the amount that the child said, the overall number and relative proportions of each question type posed to each group varied. Interviewers asked more cued invitations and fewer direct questions of CA-matched children than younger TD participants or both CWID groups. Option-posing questions comprised a larger proportion of the interviews with both ID groups than with CA matches. The few suggestive questions were posed more to CWID-Moderate. Conclusions. Although research has shown that CWID and young TD children can provide reliable information in response to very open prompting, interviewers tend not to ask such questions. Interviewing strategy was influenced by both developmental level and intellectual disability status, in conjunction with children's individual contributions to the interview, emphasizing the importance of interviewers’ understanding the capacities and vulnerabilities of the children they interview from both a developmental and cognitive perspective.
NO Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 345-349
NO Gesehen am 26.05.2023
NO First published: 11 March 2017
K1 Eyewitness testimony
K1 intellectual disabilities
K1 forensic interviews
K1 Children
DO 10.1111/lcrp.12104