Child Children of all ages Development can tell us what & they know, if we Interviewing ask them the right Skills questions in the Tomiko D. Mackey, MSW, LCSW right way. Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi, Inc. Telephone: 662.234.9929 � Facsimile: 662.234.9305 Anne Graffam Walker, 1 2 Ever feel like this when asking children for information? Introductions 3 4 Who interviews children? There are Several � Parents & other family members Potential Obstacles � Judges � Prosecutors/Defense attorneys or Blocks to � Guardians ad litem � Child protective services workers Communicating � Law enforcement personnel � Medical personnel with Children � Mental health providers � Victim’s service providers � Teachers & day care workers 5 6 1
Potential Blocks When Age / Developmental Talking with Children Level � Age � Family dynamics � Young children have very short � Developmental level � Relationship to perp attention spans. � Verbal skills/ � View of the � Child may not understand the language “system” (system problems) questions being asked. � Cultural/ethnic background � Characteristics of � Child may not have the language professionals � Socioeconomic skills necessary to answer questions status � Time of day that are asked. � Emotional issues � Environment 7 8 Characteristics of Language Children’s Language � Children think you � Confuse “wh---” � When children � Court know what they questions (who, don’t understand � Case know. what, where, when). the meaning of a � Charges � Children change � Think they have to word, they � Allegations from topic to topic have an answer. attribute their quickly. � Confuse time � Hearing own meaning to � Children take things concepts: today vs. it, based on their � Parties literally. tomorrow vs. own experiences yesterday. � Even older children and knowledge. are confused by double negatives. 9 10 Questions should be Stages of Memory developmentally appropriate. � Code What we think is important (kids think differently) Influenced by paying attention � Toddler: 18 months – 3 years Stress and anxiety interfere with encoding � Preschool: 4 - 7 years Better retained the better encoded � Retain Status of retained information may change � School Age: 8 - 11 years over time � Adolescent: 12 - 16 years Dependent on language development � Retrieve Influenced by context of interview and child’s attention span Influenced by emotion and stress 11 12 2
Toddler: 18 months – 3 School Age: 4 - 7 years years Communication is Personal and � Under age 2 � it is very unlikely that Unstable you will get any usable information � 2 � to 3 � presents a challenge � Child may use words that have special meaning in his/her world � Very short attention span � Child may use words without knowing � Few or no details what they mean � Child may confuse pronouns like “him” and “her” 13 14 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Communication appears Disorganized � Always check out who the child Information is reported out of sequence – means when he/she uses a pronoun. disjointed � Doesn’t begin at the beginning or end at the � Always check out what a child end means by the term used. May need � Child will start with whatever part of the to ask a family member. story “pops in their head” � May report aspects of various incidents as if they all happened at one time � In ongoing therapy more of the story often emerges 15 16 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Communication appears � Assist the child with sequencing: Fanciful and Improbable � “When Mom & Dad smoke, how � Child may accurately report an do they act?” event but misunderstand its meaning •“They fight.” � Never assume the child is making � “What happens after they fight?” something up or is disturbed � Seek help in understanding these elements 17 18 3
School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Thinking is Pre-logical � Consider that the child may be � Child cannot explain events repeating what he/she was told. � Child cannot explain own thinking � Child believes “BECAUSE” is an � Child may be using the only words explanation he/she has for the unknown. � Child cannot answer “How do you know…?” � Child may be right. � Child does not understand “cause & effect” � Child does not understand “what if…” or hypothetical questions 19 20 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Children may Fuse Separate Events � Avoid asking “why” questions. � Usually poor at source monitoring. � Children may fuse different events into a whole or remember parts of � Don’t set the child up to fail!!!!!! different events as one incident. � They use “scripts” to aid memory. 21 22 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Communication is Egocentric � Help child separate events with � Child uses names of people, places and questions. things without explanation. � Ask a specific time or place. � Child is unable to do “perspective taking” or to take the view of other • “When you were at your dad’s people. for Christmas…” � Child assumes that if you, the interviewer, know one thing, then you • “When you were camping and know everything. it was cold outside…” (Therefore, there is no need to tell you.) 23 24 4
School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Thinking and communication are Concrete � Always ask the child to explain: • “Who are Brittany and Amy?” � Can talk about things that they can touch and see • “Where was the dog?” • People, objects, toys, furniture, animals, etc. • “Where did the gun (vs. weapon) come from?” � Can’t talk about abstract concepts • Eternity, memory, why? • “What happened to the gun?” • May not know numbers, sequences, colors, � Don’t assume you know what the child prepositions means. • Poor concept of time, space, distance 25 26 School Age: 4 - 7 years Questions should be Simple and Concrete NOT complex or abstract!! 27 28 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip � Don’t expect correct answers to questions about time or dates. Short Attention � Remember that the child will do better at showing rather than at telling. Span � Assess child’s knowledge before asking an abstract question: � Have child demonstrate knowledge of color, prepositions, sequences, etc. � Don’t discount child’s statement because they are inaccurate about times, distances, etc. 29 30 5
School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip � Believe adults are always right. � Are easily intimidated. � Limit interviews to 10 - 20 minutes � Children are poor at catching their � Refocus attention own mistakes. • Repeating the child’s name � Are capable of lying, usually to deny • Instructions, commands (Sit here and something – very poor at it! tell me…) � Express feelings with their bodies. � Anxiety is expressed in movement. 31 32 School Age: 4 - 7 years School Age: 4 - 7 years Interviewing Tip Age 4 Age 5 � Don’t ask child to guess or acquiesce. � Who � Who � Limit repetitive questioning. � What � What � Ask questions to determine what child � Where � Where may have been told to say: � Maybe � Maybe When � Did someone tell you about coming here When today? � What did they tell you? � Did someone tell you what to say today? � Provide reassurance. 33 34 School Age: 6 - 7 years Age 6 - 7 � Who � What � Where � When � Number of times (maybe) � Circumstances (maybe) 35 36 6
School Age: 8 - 11 years School Age: 8 - 11 years � Easily embarrassed � Attention span is longer but still not very long! � Conscious of wanting approval � Sensitive to issues of fairness, right � Sitting still and paying attention are and wrong still difficult for more than ~20 � Have feelings of guilt and minutes. responsibility 37 38 School Age: 8 - 11 years School Age: 8 - 11 years Interviewing Tip � Child will answer only what is asked. � Provide structure to the interview. � Thinking is still concrete: � Child may be the very anxious about � They understand things they can touch and see better than “ideas” court/proceedings or the line of questioning and he/she may know � Thinking still focuses on one aspect of a just enough to worry. situation. � May ignore other details or not understand the need to report them. 39 40 School Age: 8 - 11 years School Age: 8 - 11 years Interviewing Tip Thinking remains Egocentric � Keep questions simple. � Don’t assume you know the child’s � Child still has difficulty with meaning. perspective taking � Child will interpret questions � Still doesn’t realize the listener can’t literally. “fill in the blanks” � Clothes vs. pajamas � Follow the child’s lead. � Views adults as all knowing � Do not assume the child can give � Believes that when adults are upset, you the details you expect. kids are automatically in trouble 41 42 7
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