Definition
Interview: A deliberate, structured, interaction in which one individual attempts to obtain needed information from another individual.
Introduction
There are various situations (e.g., disasters, crimes, accidents) in which a first responder’s action is urgent and may depend on information only available from a child. This entry is designed to help responders effectively get the information they need from children when it is needed immediately, as well as when the time frame can be extended. As discussed in this article, a productive interview must be tailored to the developmental level of the child. Although individuals beyond late childhood or early adolescence may generally respond to interviewing techniques used with adults, different techniques are required with child interviewees. Further, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school students present varying challenges as interviewees and hence require different approaches. But in all circumstances, effective...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Baker-Ward, L., Ornstein, P. A., & Starnes, L. P. (2009). Children’s understanding and remembering of stressful experiences. In J. Quas & R. Fivush (Eds.), Emotion and memory in development: Biological, cognitive and social considerations (Series in Affective Science, pp. 28–59). New York: Oxford University. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195326932.003.0002.
Brubacher, S. P., Peterson, C., La Rooy, D., Dickinson, J. J., & Poole, D. A. (2019). How children talk about events: Implications for eliciting and analyzing eyewitness reports. Developmental Review, 51, 70–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2018.12.003.
Fawcett, J. M., Peace, K. A., & Greve, A. (2016). Looking down the barrel of a gun: What do we know about the weapon focus effect? Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5(3), 257–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2016.07.005.
Fivush, R. (2011). The development of autobiographical memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 559–582. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.121208.131702.
Gordon, B. N., & Follmer, A. (1994). Developmental issues in judging the credibility of children’s testimony. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 283–294. http://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2303_6
Lamb, M. E. (2016). Difficulties translating research on forensic interview practices to practitioners: Finding water, leading horses, but can we get them to drink? American Psychologist, 71(8), 710–718. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000039.
Malloy, L. C., Orbach, Y., Lamb, M. E., & Walker, A. G. (2017). “How” and “Why” prompts in forensic investigative interviews with preschool children. Applied Developmental Science, 21(1), 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2016.1158652.
Poole, D. A., & Bruck, M. (2012). Divining testimony? The impact of interviewing props on children’s reports of touching. Developmental Review, 32, 165–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.06.007.
Price, E. A., Ahern, E. C., & Lamb, M. E. (2016). Rapport-building in investigative interviews of alleged child sexual abuse victims. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30(5), 743–749. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3249.
Quas, J. A., Rush, E. B., Yim, I. S., & Nikolayev, M. (2014). Effects of stress on memory in children and adolescents: Testing causal connections. Memory, 22, 616–632. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2013.809766.
Reese, E., Haden, C. A., Baker-Ward, L., Bauer, P. A., Fivush, R., & Ornstein, P. (2011). Coherence of personal narratives across the lifespan: A multidimensional model and coding method. Journal of Cognition and Development, 12(4), 424–462. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2011.587854.
Stolzenberg, S. N., & Lyon, T. D. (2017). ‘Where were your clothes?’ Eliciting descriptions of clothing placement from children alleging sexual abuse in criminal trials and forensic interviews. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 22, 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12094.
Talwar, V., & Crossman, A. M. (2012). Children’s lies and their detection: Implications for child witness testimony. Developmental Review, 4, 337–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2012.06.004.
Teoh, Y.-S., & Lamb, M. (2010). Preparing children for investigative interviews: Rapport-building, instruction, and evaluation. Applied Developmental Science, 14, 154–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2010.494463.
Further Reading
Lamb, M. E., Orbach, Y., Warren, A. R., Esplin, P. W., & Hershkowitz, I. (2007). Enhancing performance: Factors affecting the informativeness of young witnesses. In M. P. Toglia, J. D. Read, D. F. Ross, & R. C. L. Lindsay (Eds.), The handbook of eyewitness psychology, Vol. I: Memory for events (pp. 429–451). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Lyon, T. D. (2014). Interviewing children. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 10, 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-110413-030913.
Poole, D. A. (2016). Interviewing children: The science of conversation in forensic contexts. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14941-000.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Baker-Ward, L.E., Morris, G. (2019). Interviewing Children. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_282-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_282-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences