Welcome to Academy Online

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Welcome to Academy Online   A partnership
between the National Childrens Advocacy Center
and the University of Alabama in
Huntsville.        
TM
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Todays Presentation Interviewing Preschool
Children Linda Cordisco Steele, M.S., L.P.C.
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Questions

• Are preschool children at risk for sexual abuse?
• Are preschool children capable of telling us
  about abusive experiences?
• How do we make sense of preschoolers statements?
• How do we assist preschoolers in giving us the
  best possible information?

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Agenda

• Developmental characteristics
• Process of disclosure
• Assessment of the childs ability to be
  interviewed
• Adaptation of the NCAC Child Forensic Interview
  Structure to preschoolers
• Suggestions for success

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Developmental Characteristics

• Attachment
• Cognitive abilities
• Language
• Social / emotional considerations
• Cultural considerations

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What is Attachment?

• Mother-child bond is the essential and primary
  force in infant development
• Personality of the child develops in relation to
  a real, influential parent
• Forms the basis of coping, negotiation of
  relationships, and expectations of others

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Three Attachment Styles

• Secure
• Anxious / Avoidant
• Anxious / Ambivalent

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Secure Attachment

• Consistent connection to mother with firmly
  established sense of trust and unwavering
  nurturing
• Under stress or threat, child returns to the
  mother for safety or comfort
• Can build trusting relationship with another
  adult if time is taken

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Secure Attachment

• Consistent connection to mother with firmly
  established sense of trust and unwavering
  nurturing
• Under stress or threat, child returns to the
  mother for safety or comfort
• Can build trusting relationship with another
  adult if time is taken

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Secure Attachment

• Positive internal working model
• Secure base
• Scaffolding

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Anxious / Avoidant Attachment

• Mother is not available to the child
• Child does not learn to use adults as source of
  comfort and support
• Internal working model do not expect help or
  protection
• Child may focus on other adults, toys, objects,
  etc.

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Anxious / Ambivalent Attachment

• Mothers responses are inconsistent and in
  response to her own needs
• Child may exhibit specific behaviors to elicit
  familiar response
• Internal working model always be working to
  gain some response

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Impact on the Interview

• Separation from caregiver
• Coping in strange situation
• Developing rapport
• Impact on brain development and cognition
• Internal working model

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BREAK Learning Activity 1

• Think about children that you know in relation to
  their caregiver. List several examples from your
  experience that may illustrate or demonstrate the
  three types of attachment relationships.

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Cognitive Abilities

• Schema
• Memory
• Specific cognitive abilities
• Environmental influences

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Schema

• A mental image or pattern of action
• A form of organizing information that a person
  uses to interpret the things she sees, hears,
  smells, and touches
• Organizes perception and behavior

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Schema Development

• Assimilation
• Accommodation
• Adaptation

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Impact on the Interview

• Schema for you versus schema for the child
• Novel versus familiar
• Meaning for the child
• Response to questions

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Memory

• Preschool child is capable of correct memories
• Preschool child remembers less information
• Preschool child remembers the meaning of any
  experience or event

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Memory

• Product of age, family, and school environment
• Less developed internal cognitive structures
• Memory may have a snapshot quality without
  surrounding detail
• Better at script than event memory

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Cognitive / Memory Characteristics

• Egocentric
• Centering
• Lack of classification
• Lack of source monitoring
• Lack of sequencing
• Superficial erroneous causal links

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Impact on the Interview

• Preschooler can only see the event from their
  point of view.
• Preschooler cannot communicate in story
  fashion.
• Preschooler may not accurately use questions.
• Interviewer must monitor the conversation.

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Language

• Can be understood by most adults
• May have articulation problems
• May use words incorrectly
• Will be familiar and comfortable with language
  style of caregivers
• Narrative ability will vary

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Impact on the Interview

• Background information from the caregiver may be
  helpful
• Keep statements and questions simple, brief, and
  concrete
• Allow time for narrative ability to unfold
• Monitor and limit follow-up questions

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Social / Emotional Considerations

• Responds well to praise and encouragement
• Family is the world
• All or nothing opinions and feelings
• Egocentric
• Short attention span for many tasks

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Impact on the Interview

• Familys response will have an influence
• Separation may take time and be lost under stress
• Lives in the moment may be difficult to focus
• Easily distracted, tires easily
• Friendly demeanor important

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Cultural Considerations

• Match between child and interviewer
• Goals for attachment relationship
• Influence on schema
• Strangeness of interview format
• Language and narrative style
• Family rules

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BREAK Learning Activity 2

• Think about the term SCHEMA. Write out your
  understanding of the definition of schema. Make
  some notes about how the issue of schema might
  impact our understanding of the young childs
  statement.

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Disclosure Process

• Intentional
• Accidental
• Recantation
• How might this process be different for
  preschoolers?

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Pre-Interview Screening

• Children who cannot be interviewed I know more
  than I can tell.
• Children with transitioning skills I can tell
  you what I know in my own way.
• Children who can be a witness I still need
  accommodations.

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Preschoolers who cannot be interviewed

• Cannot understand her language
• Cannot separate from caregiver
• Cannot participate in conversational exchange
• Has been influenced by emotional statements from
  caregivers

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Preschoolers with transitioning skills

• Uneven development
• Need to adapt the task to the childs abilities
• Skills may be better than they look
• Interviewer and child learn from each other
• Child may be able to show what he cannot tell

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Screening for Skills

• Language
• Question / answer understanding
• Attention span
• Concepts
• Real / imaginary conversations
• Symbolic play

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Preschoolers who can be interviewed

• Can understand language
• Can respond to question with pertinent
  information
• Can accurately report about things that can be
  verified
• Demonstrates some skills that can be incorporated
  into the interview

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BREAK Learning Activity 3

• Think about the three categories for assessing
  childrens readiness or ability to be
  interviewed. List these categories and a couple
  of characteristics for each one.

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NCAC Child Forensic Interview Structure

• Introductions
• Rapport / Developmental Screening
• Guidelines / Rules
• Transition Questions
• Open-ended questions about abusive incident
• Follow-up questions
• Clarification
• Closure

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Variations

• Child may not be in active disclosure
• Child may disclose about more than one event
• Child may disclose about more than one type of
  abuse
• Child may employ protective strategies to avoid
  talking about painful information

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NCAC Child Forensic Interview Structure -
Adaptations

• Stages may not be sequential
• More than one session may be necessary
• Certain stages may be eliminated
• Expectations should be lowered about amount of
  information provided
• Even more necessary to follow the childs lead

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Introduction

• Preschooler may monitor interviewers interaction
  with caregiver
• Information not as important as comfort level
• Preschooler may not understand the purpose of the
  interview
• Preschooler may need access to the caregiver

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Suggestions

• Take your time
• Talk to parents as well as to preschooler
• Insure that child knows where parent will be and
  that parent knows where child will be
• Do not push for conversation from the child

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Rapport / Developmental Screening

• Difficult to balance limits of attention span
  with childs need to gain some comfort in a new
  setting
• Preschoolers skills best assessed when in
  comfort zone
• Pre-interview screening and this stage are the
  same

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Rapport / Developmental Screening

• Language
• Question / answer understanding
• Concepts
• Expressive skills
• Self-representation
• Comfort level

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Suggestions

• Reinforce application of any rules Thank you
  for telling me I got that wrong.
• Observe preschoolers ability to make use of the
  general guidelines even without instruction
• Tailor your interaction to their limited abilities

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Transition Questions

• Preschooler may initiate the disclosure if it is
  on their mind
• General transition questions are probably too
  broad for preschoolers
• Questions about family members, routines, or
  events may come closer to cuing the preschooler

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Abuse Specific Questioning

• May require more direct cue
• Difficult balance between cuing and not leading
• Do not place things into a category things are
  what they are
• May only respond to a limited number of follow-up
  questions

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Cue Questions

• What will direct the preschoolers attention to
  the event?
• Earlier disclosures (if there were any) are often
  stimulated by environmental cues
• Questions must match a memory in the childs mind

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Cue Questions

• Reference trip to doctor, visit from police, etc.
• Preschooler may not understand words such as
  touch or problem or something you didnt
  like
• Preschooler may respond to different question
  than you asked

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Cautions

• Preschoolers are more suggestible
• Preschoolers may give their best answers to
  questions they dont understand
• Preschoolers cannot monitor their own
  understanding
• Preschoolers do not understand that adults dont
  understand

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Suggestions

• Gather background information
• Pay attention to any statements by the
  preschooler that lead to the topic
• Make your questions count
• Note when the preschooler is tiring or drifting
• Use tools only if preschooler has demonstrated
  competence

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Closure

• Preschooler is often less stressed by questioning
  than older child
• May not have follow-up questions or concerns
• May want to stay and play once you leave
  abusive topic

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Making Sense of the Preschoolers Statements

• Additional investigation is necessary
• Statements must be matched with corroboration
  information
• Cannot explain discrepancies
• Cannot provide all of the details
• Cannot place information in a sequential order

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Making Sense of the Preschoolers Statements

• Consider alternative hypotheses
• Consider an extended interview process
• Protection may be more important than prosecution