Archive | Forensic Interviewing of Children

Understanding the mechanics of how human memory works is necessary for assessing allegations of child sexual abuse. In his text, memory researcher Richard McNally (2005) explains basic principles involved in memory for normal and traumatic events. Following is a summary of processes that are relevant when evaluating these allegations.

Research-based forensic interview protocols direct interviewers to use question prompts that encourage children to report events in their own words and minimize questions that convey information from the interviewer or that introduces topics the child has not previously mentioned (Poole, 2016).

What is source monitoring? “Source monitoring refers to the set of processes involved in making attributions about the origins of memories, knowledge and beliefs” (Johnson, Hashtroudi, & Lindsay, 1993, (p. 3). Memory source monitoring addresses the question – how do we know what we know? Is our knowledge based on direct experience or did it […]

A forensic interviewing guideline exists that directs child forensic interviewers to include a something else option as a response choice to closed questions. This response option is based on the premise that a child will select the something else option if the other response options are false, and when prompted, will self-generate the correct answer.

What is a Forensic Interview? A child forensic interview can be conceptualized as a structured conversation that is designed to obtain information from a child about an event the child may have experienced. The interview should be “developmentally sensitive,” meaning questions should be phrased based on a child’s level of cognitive development and linguistic skills. […]