Survey of child forensic interviewers

What is it about?

We surveyed a national sample of child forensic interviewers to learn the types of information they wanted to have before interviewing children, their attitudes and beliefs about forensic interviews, the characteristics of their interviews, and their professional experiences.

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Why is it important?

Child forensic interviewers often want, find helpful, and have access to preinterview information about the child, alleged abuse, and disclosure. This information might help interviewers facilitate conversations with reluctant children and generate alternative hypotheses, but it also has the potential to compromise the accuracy of children’s reports. Future research should systematically examine the effects of preinterview information on child forensic interviews to ensure accurate, legally defensible reports from alleged child victims.

Perspectives