Facilitating Completeness in Children's Maltreatment Disclosures

项目摘要/摘要：促进儿童虐待披露的完整性 虐待儿童是对儿童福祉的最严重威胁之一。然而， 有10%的儿童没有披露虐待情况，或提供的披露情况不令人信服。为了不让 在法律的干预下，决策者希望儿童在没有过度提示的情况下披露虐待行为，但也希望 提供关于时间、数量和身体互动的足够细节，以使成年人相信发生了虐待。 采访者不确定如何引出这些细节;孩子们似乎不太可能自发地产生这些细节，但 广泛的询问有可能造成错误和沟通不畅。鉴于受虐待儿童的 为了保护儿童，必须确定最敏感的面谈方法。 拟议的研究计划将涉及一系列新颖的实验室和实地研究， 确定帮助受虐待儿童提供完整报告的面谈方法。该项目有两个目标： 1)最大限度地提高儿童揭露成人违法行为的能力和意愿; 2）确定最佳的 用于引出有关时间、数字和物理交互的详细信息的问题类型。目标一定会实现 通过五个项目。项目1将确定和评估披露虐待行为的实地方法， 关于时间、数量和物理交互的详细信息。这将涉及对审判证词的详细分析， 对儿童进行法医访谈。项目2将测试新的面试方法在引出 违规披露，项目3将确定最佳的问题类型，以引出有关时间的细节， 数量和物理交互。项目2和3将涉及对儿童的实验室实验研究 他们被怀疑有违法行为有价问题（关于“坏事”或 “最糟糕的事情”），成对的是/否问题（是/否问题后面是详细说明的请求），以及开放式- 关于时间，数量和物理相互作用的问题将被评估其对 孩子们的信息披露。项目4将实验性地评估成人对儿童行为的看法。 对违法行为的揭露和否认它将涉及成年人的实验室实验研究， 他们对使用项目2和3中测试的技术接受询问的儿童进行的评价。项目5将测试 新的采访方法在儿童揭露性虐待和身体虐待的实地实验中的功效。 除了上述技术外，它还将测试会话问题（问题）的有效性。 关于孩子与嫌疑人的对话），这是我们目前资助的研究的主题。我们的研究 该计划是独一无二的：它结合了实地观察研究，实验室实验研究， 实验研究，试图找出最成功的儿童访谈方法。的 研究提供了一个前所未有的机会，以促进我们对儿童发展的理解， 为采访儿童的专业人员提供对最佳做法的批判性见解。它承诺改善 这有助于进行访谈，从而使儿童专业人员能够更好地保护儿童及其家庭。

Project Summary/Abstract: Facilitating completeness in children’s maltreatment disclosures Child maltreatment is one of the most serious threats to children’s well-being. However, substantial percentages of children either fail to disclose abuse or provide unconvincing disclosures. In order to justify legal intervention, decision-makers expect children to disclose abuse without excessive prompting, but also to provide sufficient details about time, number, and physical interactions to convince adults that abuse occurred. Interviewers are unsure how to elicit such details; children appear unlikely to produce them spontaneously, but extensive questioning risks error and miscommunication. Given the critical importance of maltreated children’s disclosure for the protection of children, it is imperative to identify the most sensitive interviewing approaches. The proposed program of research will involve a series of novel laboratory and field studies designed to identify interviewing methods that help maltreated children provide complete reports. The project has two aims: 1) To maximize children’s capacity and willingness to disclose adult transgressions; and 2) To identify optimal question types for eliciting details about time, number, and physical interactions. The aims will be achieved through five projects. Project 1 will identify and assess field methods for eliciting maltreatment disclosures and details about time, number, and physical interactions. It will involve detailed analysis of trial testimonies and forensic interviews with children. Project 2 will test the efficacy of novel interviewing methods in eliciting transgression disclosures, and Project 3 will identify optimal question types for eliciting details about time, number, and physical interactions. Projects 2 and 3 will involve laboratory experimental studies with children who are questioned about suspected transgressions. Valenced questions (questions about “something bad” or “the worst thing”), paired yes/no questions (yes/no questions followed by a requests for elaboration), and open- ended questions about time, number, and physical interactions will be assessed for their effect on the completeness of children’s disclosures. Project 4 will experimentally assess adults’ perceptions of children’s disclosures and denials of transgressions. It will involve laboratory experimental studies with adults asked for their evaluation of children questioned utilizing the techniques tested in Projects 2 and 3. Project 5 will test the efficacy of novel interviewing methods in field experiments with children disclosing sexual and physical abuse. In addition to the techniques described above, it will test the efficacy of conversation questions (questions about the child’s conversations with the suspect), the subject of our currently funded research. Our research program is unique: it combines field observational research, laboratory experimental research, and field experimental research in an attempt to identify the most successful child interviewing approaches. The research provides an unprecedented opportunity to advance our understanding of child development and provide critical insight into best practice for professionals who interview children. It promises to improve interviewing, and in turn to enable child professionals to better protect children and their families.