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

与大量致力于提高儿童和成人目击能力的测试方法的研究相比，没有相当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，这种遗漏是令人震惊的：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%。当青少年接受询问时，我们不清楚两种截然不同的最佳访谈策略中哪一种最有助于从他们那里引出信息：为儿童（即大部分年龄在3-12岁）开发的策略还是为成人（即大学年龄及以上）开发的策略。青少年通常不愿意告诉成年人他们的负面或冒险经历，再加上他们越来越多地参与冒险行为，对自己行为的自主感，以及对可能有违法行为或冒险行为的同龄人的忠诚，这些都降低了他们在经历或目睹犯罪时透露的意愿。然而，为了保护这些青少年，执法部门、家长、老师和其他相关成年人需要指导，如何最好地克服这种不情愿，并从青少年那里获得完整而准确的报告。本研究的目的就是提供这种指导。两项研究将测试访谈前建立融洽关系策略对14-19岁青少年报告他们之前犯下的错误（研究1，n=306）或他们目睹的负面事件（研究2，n=306）的影响。建立融洽的关系，旨在促进面试官和被面试者之间的开放沟通，包括许多不同的策略。目前的研究将比较三种情况：(a)采访者和青少年将从相互的自我披露活动开始，这已被证明可以增加成年人的报告；(b)采访者首先让青少年练习回答开放式问题，这是一种增加儿童报告的活动，或者(c)采访者将从问封闭式问题（例如，你多大了？）开始，这是一种传统的低亲和力方法。一半的访谈将亲自进行，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协助，一名博士后学者将共同指导研究。研究结果将为建立融洽关系对青少年信息披露的有效性提供急需的见解。研究结果还将揭示，当由于地点偏远或出于安全考虑，面对面访谈被排除在外时，在线访谈形式是否可以替代面对面访谈。总的来说，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访谈策略奠定基础。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.