The Effects of Narrative Scaffolding on Low-Income Children's Suggestibility

描述(由申请人提供)：尽管大量研究表明，使用暗示性问题会对儿童陈述的准确性产生负面影响，但许多法医面试官仍然使用这些问题，即使他们接受了严格的培训或使用了照本宣科的面谈程序。因此，迫切需要开发方法，使幼儿免受暗示性问题的负面影响。P.I.之前的研究表明，对某一事件进行更长、更详尽的自由叙述的儿童，对随后提出的有关该事件的提示性问题更具抵抗力。本提案的目的是通过调查旨在改善儿童叙述的特定访谈技术对儿童随后对暗示问题的抵抗力的影响来扩展这项工作。具体地说，该项目将追求以下具体目标：1.在低收入样本中复制叙事技能与暗示性之间的关系，使用更真实的事件，增加生态效度；2.测试叙事脚手架访谈对降低儿童暗示能力的有效性；3.测试语言技能对叙事脚手架的调节作用。从服务于低收入家庭的托儿项目招募的三岁和四岁的儿童将在教室里观察两个成年人之间的一场上演的冲突。在推迟一段时间后，儿童将接受采访，要么是标准的采访，只包括自由回忆部分，要么是叙事脚手架采访，旨在支持制作更长、更详细的叙事。随后，这两种情况的儿童都会被提出一系列具有引导性和误导性的问题。此外，儿童的语言技能，包括词汇和叙述技能，将在单独的课程中进行测量。这个项目的创新之处在于，它将超越相关性研究，为高质量叙事的产生和儿童记忆之间的因果关系提供证据。这项拟议的研究具有科学价值，它促进了我们对儿童早期发展中记忆过程的理解。同时，拟议的项目将提供可纳入实际法医面谈的面谈程序效力的证据。此外，本科生和研究生研究助理将与P.I.一起参与实施该项目，因此该项目将为这些学生提供就业和研究教育体验。 公共卫生相关性：拟议的项目将提供证据，证明一种新的面谈程序在降低儿童的暗示能力方面的有效性。这一程序可纳入实际的法医面谈，有助于确保在这些情况下被约谈的儿童获得的证词的准确性。因此，这项研究有可能对促进涉嫌虐待儿童受害者的健康和福祉产生积极影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although there is an abundance of research showing that the use of suggestive questions can negatively impact the accuracy of children's statements, many forensic interviewers still use these questions, even when they have undergone rigorous training or are using scripted interview protocols. Thus, there is a critical need to develop methods to inoculate young children from the negative effects of suggestive questions. Previous work by the P.I. has shown that children who produce longer and more elaborate free narratives about an event are more resistant to subsequent suggestive questions about that event. The objective of the present proposal is to extend this work by investigating the effects of a specific interview technique designed to improve children's narratives on children's subsequent resistance to suggestive questions. Specifically, the proposed project will pursue the following specific aims: 1. Replicate the relation between narrative skill and suggestibility in low-income sample with a more realistic event, increasing ecological validity; 2. Test the efficacy of a narrative-scaffolding interview on reducing children's suggestibility; and 3. Test the moderating effects of language skill on narrative scaffolding. Three- and four-year-old children, recruited from child care programs serving low-income families, will observe a staged conflict between two adults in their classroom. After a delay, children will be interviewed either in a standard interview that includes only a free-recall portion or a narrative- scaffolding interview designed to support the production of a longer and more elaborate narrative. Children in both conditions will then be subsequently presented with a series of leading and misleading questions. In addition, children's language skill, measured both in terms of vocabulary and narrative skill, will be measured in separate sessions. This project is innovative in that it will go beyond correlational studies to provide evidence for a causal relation between the production of high quality narratives and children's memory. The proposed study has scientific merit by advancing our understanding of memory processes in early child development. At the same time, the proposed project will provide evidence of the efficacy of an interview procedure that can be incorporated into actual forensic interviews. Additionally, undergraduate and graduate student research assistants will be involved along with the P.I. in carrying out this project, and thus this project will provide employment and a research education experience to these students. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed project will provide evidence of the efficacy of a novel interview procedure in reducing children's suggestibility. This procedure can be incorporated into actual forensic interviews, helping to ensure the accuracy of statements obtained by children interviewed in these contexts. As such, this study has the potential to have a positive impact on promoting the health and well-being of suspected victims of child abuse.