Testing the Value of Rapport Building to Enhance Adolescent Disclosures in Online and In-Person Interviews

与致力于测试提高儿童和成人目击能力的方法的大量研究相比，没有类似数量的研究针对提高青少年报告能力的测试方法。考虑到犯罪的青少年受害者和目击者的绝对数量，这种遗漏是惊人的：他们经历暴力犯罪的风险仅次于年轻人，青少年占虐待和忽视受害者的22%。当青少年被询问时，还不清楚两种截然不同的最佳采访策略中哪一种最有助于促使他们披露信息：为儿童(即主要是3-12岁)制定的策略，还是为成年人(即大学及以上年龄)制定的策略。青少年一般不愿告诉成年人他们的负面或危险经历，再加上他们越来越普遍地参与危险行为，对自己行为的自主感，以及对可能以犯罪或危险方式行事的同龄人的忠诚，这些都降低了他们披露自己何时经历或目睹犯罪的意愿。然而，为了保护这些青少年，执法部门以及父母、教师和其他有关成年人需要指导，如何最好地克服这种不情愿，并从青少年那里获得完整和准确的报告。本研究的目的就是提供这方面的指导。两项研究将测试面试前建立融洽关系的策略对14-19岁青少年关于他们先前犯下的不当行为(研究1，n=306)或他们目睹的负面事件(研究2，n=306)的报告的影响。建立融洽的关系，旨在促进面试官和被采访者之间的开放交流，包括许多不同的策略。在目前的研究中，将对三个方面进行比较：(A)面试官和青少年将从相互透露自我的活动开始，这已被证明可以增加成年人的报告能力；(B)面试官将从让青少年练习回答开放式问题开始，这是一种增加儿童报告能力的活动；或(C)面试官将从问封闭式问题(例如，你多大了？)开始，这是一种传统的低融洽方法。一半的面试将面对面进行，另一半将通过Zoom远程进行。本科生和研究生将在所有阶段提供帮助，一名博士后学者将共同指导研究。这些发现将为了解建立融洽关系对青少年信息披露的有效性提供亟需的洞察。调查结果还将揭示，当青少年因为地点偏远或出于安全考虑而被排除在外时，在线面试模式是否是对青少年进行面对面面试的可行选择。总体而言，这些研究将为制定针对弱势和经常被忽视的青少年受害者和证人的最佳实践采访战略奠定基础。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In contrast to large bodies of research devoted to testing methods of improving children’s and adults’ eyewitness capabilities, no comparable amount of research has been directed toward testing methods of enhancing teenagers’ reporting abilities. This omission is striking, considering the sheer number of teen victims of and witnesses to crime: They are second only to young adults in their risk for experiencing violent crime, and teens comprise 22% of abuse and neglect victims. When teens are questioned, it is unclear which of two very different best-practice types of interview strategies would be most helpful at eliciting disclosures from them: strategies developed for children (i.e., largely ages 3-12) or strategies developed for adults (i.e., college age and older). Teenagers’ general reluctance to tell adults about their negative or risky experiences, combined with their increasingly common engagement in risky behavior, feelings of autonomy about their actions, and allegiance to peers who may have acted in delinquent or risky ways all decrease their willingness to disclose when they have experienced or witnessed crime. Yet, in order to protect these teens, law enforcement, as well as parents, teachers, and other concerned adults, need guidance on how best to overcome this reluctance and elicit complete and accurate reports from teens. The purpose of the present research is to provide this guidance. Two studies will test the effects of pre-interview rapport building strategies on 14-19 year-olds’ reports of a prior misdeed they committed (Study 1, n=306) or negative event they witnessed (Study 2, n=306). Rapport building, which is designed to foster open communication between an interviewer and interviewee, includes a number of different strategies. Three will be compared in the current studies: (a) interviewers and teens will begin with a mutual self-disclosure activity, which has been shown to increase reporting in adults; (b) interviewers will begin by having teens practice answering open-ended questions, an activity that increases reporting in children, or (c) interviewers will begin by asking closed-ended questions (e.g., How old are you?), a traditional low rapport approach. Half of the interviews will be conducted in person and half will be conducted remotely via Zoom. Undergraduate and graduate students will assist in all phases, and a postdoctoral scholar will co-direct the studies. Findings will provide much-needed insight into the efficacy of rapport building on teenager disclosures. Findings will also reveal whether online interviewing formats are a viable alternative to in-person interviews with teens when the latter are precluded because locations are remote or because of safety concerns. Overall, the studies will lay the foundation for the development of best-practice interviewing strategies for vulnerable and often overlooked teenage victims and witnesses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.