Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/TEXT/LEB94JAN.ZIP/94JAN004.TXT

Text File | 1994-01-20 | 11KB | 245 lines

           CHILD ABUSE: INTERVIEWING POSSIBLE VICTIMS

                               By

                           David Gullo
                           Lieutenant
             Commander/Special Enforcement Division
             Campbell, California, Police Department


     Law enforcement officers often respond to incidents that
involve children, including calls that require emergency
placement, social service referrals, and criminal investigations.
However, with increasing regularity, officers must also respond
to calls that involve child sexual abuse.

     This raises the question of whether law enforcement officers
understand how to interview children effectively when faced with
cases of this nature. Clearly, investigators who conduct such
interviews must possess special skills. At a minimum, they should
know how to ask questions that are not leading, and they should
have a good working knowledge of how to structure an interview.

     Most important, however, officers who deal with child abuse
cases should have a fundamental understanding of child
development. Adults may remember what it was like to be a child,
but childhood memories are not enough to understand child
behavior. A nationwide child-care facility believes that it takes
a well-trained mind to think like a child--interviewers need to
learn as much as possible about how children think and develop.

     Basic knowledge in the area of child development helps to
build a foundation for successful interviews of children. Without
this foundation, interviews involving children are likely to be
unsuccessful, perhaps even disastrous.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

     Investigators who understand how children develop can more
readily choose appropriate methods to gain information and assess
the child's response during the interview process. There are five
stages of child development--infancy, early childhood, preschool
age, school age, and adolescence. (1) Interviewers familiar with
the various developmental stages can better judge whether the
child is likely--at a particular age--to comprehend the
questions, as well as whether the child can successfully
communicate thoughts and feelings.

     For example, investigators who know that children between
the ages of 4 and 6 do not generally comprehend such major
concepts as time, space, and distance avoid asking such questions
as "What time did your daddy touch you?" Instead, they frame
their questions around times familiar to children, such as
dinner, bedtime, or playtime.

     At the same time, while understanding the development of
young children is important, investigators should not neglect to
educate themselves on the developmental stages of adolescents as
well. Interviewers armed with the information that teenagers
frequently mask their true feelings with humor or denial can
approach the interview by first developing a rapport with them in
order to put them at ease. Teenagers at ease with their
interviewers are much more likely to share their experiences and
feelings.

CHILD SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

     Obtaining some background information about a child's sexual
behavior is also critical. This type of information helps
interviewers to understand why children may respond the way they
do.

     Generally, questions about sex start as early as 2 years of
age. Between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, children handle
their genitals as they would their noses or toes. They are
exploring and discovering their bodies. From 2 to 5 years of age,
normal curiosity prompts children to look at and touch others.
Playing "doctor" is not uncommon, and children may masturbate.
(2)

     After age 6, children seem to know that they should keep
sexual activity and curiosity private. Children who continue to
touch their genitals or masturbate excessively, ask a lot of
sexual questions, are occupied with the bodies of others, or show
overt sexual aggression are usually disturbed about something.
(3) It is important to remember, however, that while sexual abuse
is a possibility in these cases, other problems that cause fear
or anxiety may also provoke this type of behavior.

     When parents find their children masturbating, they
sometimes report this behavior to law enforcement officers. The
parents, believing that this behavior is abnormal, suspect that
the child has been molested. It is up to police interviewers to
rule out the possibility of sexual abuse.

     Officers who have some knowledge of child sexual behavior
can ask the children appropriate questions that are
understandable and nonthreatening, but are not accusatory. They
can also help parents to understand the behavior of their
children.

EMOTIONAL STYLE

     Another factor that impacts the manner in which officers
approach an interview is the emotional style exhibited by the
child. Some children are outgoing and verbal (expressive), while
others are timid and nonverbal (controlled). (4) Expressive
children usually speak with ease on a range of topics. At times,
they may even be too talkative. Controlled children, on the other
hand, are quiet and usually do not show their feelings. In
addition, they often avoid eye contact and keep their heads or
bodies turned away from interviewers.

     Investigators should attempt to identify the child's
emotional style prior to the interview. Parents and teachers
often make good sources for this type of information. However, if
children exhibit uncharacteristic emotional styles, interviewers
should not assume that they have been abused. Instead, they
should attempt to determine why their emotional style has changed
and then include this information in a written interview report.

QUESTIONING VICTIMS

     In addition to understanding child development, child
sexuality, and the different emotional styles of children,
investigators who interview children regarding abuse also need to
know the various types of questions they can ask. They should be
aware that this important factor can impact on the final result
of the interview.

     Questioning victims is an integral part of child abuse
investigations. Proper techniques facilitate the child's
response, but do not suggest a particular one. This, in turn,
leads to disclosure of the facts. The primary goal of the
questioning is to obtain untainted information from the child
that prosecutors can use in court proceedings.

     Five common types of questions exist--general, focused,
multiple choice, yes or no, and leading. (5) Investigators who
interview children regarding abuse should be aware of what types
of questions gain information from children most effectively.
They should attempt to stay within the framework of open-ended,
general, or focused questions.

     If interviewers try several of these types of questions
without obtaining results, they should stop the interview and
schedule a second meeting with the child. A change in emotional
circumstances may make the child feel more comfortable speaking
about the incident. (6)

GENERAL QUESTIONS

     General questions inquire in a nonspecific manner about the
child's state of mind or specific circumstances. Examples might
include how the child has been feeling lately or why the child is
seeing the interviewer. While these questions may be appropriate
for adults, they are less likely to evoke effective responses
from children, who generally require more specific information.
When asked why they are meeting with the interviewer, children
often respond "I do not know" or "I forgot."

FOCUSED QUESTIONS

     Focused questions require that children offer more
information as a response. An example of a focused question would
be, "What secrets do you have with your dad?"  This type of
question identifies a specific person, and therefore, limits the
discussion.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

     Investigators should use multiple choice questions with
children who have difficulty describing their abuse. However,
interviewers should first test the child's response pattern to
multiple-choice questions with nonessential questions. Some
children respond to only the last choice they hear. By asking a
short series of multiple-choice questions, the interviewer can
establish whether the child responds honestly or to the same
choice each time.

     Another good indicator of whether children are being open
and honest is when they use their own words to respond to a
multiple-choice question. For example, when asked whether they
were wearing day clothes or night clothes, they may describe
their attire in detail, including color, style, etc.

YES OR NO QUESTIONS

     Yes or no questions are generally ineffective when used in
interviews with children. An exception to this would be to ask a
general question requiring a yes or no answer, followed by a
question that requires more specific information. An example
would be to ask about whether a specific act of abuse occurred.
If the answer is yes, the interviewer should ask the child who
committed the abuse.

LEADING QUESTIONS

     Leading questions are inappropriate for interviews of
children. Children are easily led, and in the majority of
circumstances, their answers will reflect the way the interviewer
slants the question. For instance, if interviewers indicate who
they believe committed the abuse, the children will usually
sustain this belief.

CONCLUSION

     It is critical that investigators who must interview
children learn as much as possible about child behavior. Most law
enforcement regional training centers offer classes in how to
interview children to officers who obtain positions that require
this skill. Those who have a basic foundation in this area can
interview children more effectively because they are better
equipped to choose appropriate methods for gaining information.

     The number of reported child abuse cases in the United
States continues to grow. Members of the law enforcement
community must prepare to meet this growing challenge. They can
do this by developing a basic knowledge of child development and
behavior. Armed with this valuable knowledge, officers can gain
critical information from children and contribute to the
successful prosecution of these serious cases.

ENDNOTES

     (1)  Interviewing Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation,
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Arlington,
Virginia, 1987.

     (2)  Loraine Stern, M.D., "Your Child's Health, Children and
Sex," Woman's Day, August 1990.

     (3)  Ibid.

     (4)  Ann Wolbert Burgess, R.N., D.N.Sc., "Counseling Young
Victims," Sexual Assault of Children and Adolescents (Lexington,
MA: D.C. Heath Co., 1978).

     (5)  Kathleen Coulborn Faller, M.S., Ph.D., Child Sexual
Abuse: An Interdisciplinary Manual for the Diagnosis, Case
Management, and Treatment (New York: Columbia University Press,
1988).

     (6)  Ibid.