A Comparison of Responses to Substantive Transition Prompts in Interviews With Children

This study examined children’s responses to two alternate prompts used to transition to the substantive phase of an interview. Children (N = 401) experienced four scripted events and were later interviewed. After rapport building, half of the children were asked, “Tell me what you’re here to talk to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChild maltreatment Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 221 - 225
Main Authors Earhart, Becky, Danby, Meaghan C., Brubacher, Sonja P., Powell, Martine B., Sharman, Stefanie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2018
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Children
Elementary school students
Elementary schools
Interviews
Responses
interviewing children
interview techniques
experimental/analog studies
elementary school-age children
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Summary:This study examined children’s responses to two alternate prompts used to transition to the substantive phase of an interview. Children (N = 401) experienced four scripted events and were later interviewed. After rapport building, half of the children were asked, “Tell me what you’re here to talk to me about today,” whereas the other half were asked, “Tell me why you’re here to talk to me today.” Children’s responses were coded as informative (e.g., nouns) or uninformative (e.g., “don’t know”). The what prompt elicited more informative responses than the why prompt, and 7- to 9-year-olds were more informative than 5- to 6-year-olds regardless of the type of prompt they received. Given that the what prompt elicited more informative responses, the present study provides initial support for this phrasing when forensic interviewers transition to the substantive phase.
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ISSN:1077-5595
1552-6119
DOI:10.1177/1077559518756827