Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 2015
ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to review an evidence-based tool for training child forensi... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to review an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol (NICHD Protocol), with a specific focus on how the Protocol is being adapted in various countries. The authors include international contributions from experienced trainers, practitioners, and scientists, who are already using the Protocol or whose national or regional procedures have been directly influenced by the NICHD Protocol research (Canada, Finland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, and USA). Throughout the review, these experts comment on: how and when the Protocol was adopted in their country; who uses it; training procedures; challenges to implementation and translation; and other pertinent aspects. The authors aim to further promote good interviewing practice by sharing the experiences of these international experts. The NICHD Protocol can be easily incorporated into existing training programs worldwide and is available for free. It was originally developed in English and Hebrew and is available in several other languages. This paper reviews an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the NICHD Protocol. It has been extensively studied and reviewed over the past 20 years. This paper is unique in that it brings together practitioners who are actually responsible for training forensic interviewers and conducting forensic interviews from all around the world.
Upon a raised suspicion of child sexual abuse, time must be taken to control and calm down tne si... more Upon a raised suspicion of child sexual abuse, time must be taken to control and calm down tne situation. It is important for those working with children to take actions without causing problems to the course of the possible criminal process. Advance issue with treatment guidelines is a good way to confirm adequate basic information about the phenomenon. Hearing the child and detailed documentation of the information are essential. Excessive questioning may have a negative impact on the criminal process. The urgency of somatic investigations is determined by the last possible time of occurrence of the suspected abuse.
ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to explore whether psychologists, lawyers, and psychology st... more ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to explore whether psychologists, lawyers, and psychology students would be able to predict how children behave in memory and suggestibility experiments and if this ability is associated with different measures of experience. The participants (N = 63) were to predict the results of a series of published research studies pertaining to children's memory and suggestibility. The results indicated that the ability of the participants to predict the behavior of children was overall low and unrelated to experience. It was concluded that professionals who should be able to assess children's functioning as witnesses may not be able to do so.
According to Finnish Child Welfare Law, the authorities are obligated to report suspicions of chi... more According to Finnish Child Welfare Law, the authorities are obligated to report suspicions of child sexual abuse immediately to the police and to social services to ensure the well being of the child. The investigating police may request assistance for forensic interviews and medical assessments from specialized units. The child's disclosure is often the most important part of the evaluation. The timing of medical examination is crucial to obtain biological trace of evidence and to document evidence of acute injury or infection. The need for crisis support must be evaluated.
International Journal of Educational Development, 2008
The phenomenon of extra tuition is witnessed in many countries and some educationalists have desc... more The phenomenon of extra tuition is witnessed in many countries and some educationalists have described it as a parallel education system. However, the incidence and impact of extra tuition have often not been studied systematically, especially in Africa. In this article cross-national data for six African education systems (Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zanzibar) collected by SACMEQ, the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, have been used to assess: (a) the incidence and growth of extra tuition, (b) the characteristics of students who received extra tuition, and (c) the association between extra tuition and student achievement. The analyses presented in this paper showed that extra tuition was a widespread phenomenon in all six education systems, and that receiving extra tuition was positively associated with the socio-economic levels of students' home backgrounds. The association between tuition and student achievement was mixed. The issues and challenges associated with tuition have been discussed and some suggestions for further research made. r
ABSTRACT We examined how judges evaluate four characteristics when choosing an expert witness for... more ABSTRACT We examined how judges evaluate four characteristics when choosing an expert witness for a forensic psychological or psychiatric case. We asked 87 judges to read short descriptions of legal cases and asked them to choose the best expert witness from a pool of experts who differed based on the following four criteria: the expert could be a psychologist or a psychiatrist, have or not have work experience, have or not have a leadership role, and have or not have publications in the field. The results showed that the judges considered the expert's work experience as a necessary criterion without which the witness cannot be chosen. Also, they considered having publications in the field as important and covering leadership roles as useless, if not harmful. Further, the judges demonstrated to be accurate in choosing a psychologist or a psychiatrist according to the presented legal case. Analyzing separately the impact of the judges' age and gender on their choosing style, we observed a trend for male judges to value leadership roles and no significant impact of age on the responses given. The study highlights how the selection of expert witnesses is strongly driven by the expert's work experience which, however, may not always be a reliable cue of actual expertise both in the psychological and psychiatric fields.
Beliefs impact our decision-making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs ab... more Beliefs impact our decision-making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs about child sexual abuse (CSA) that do not coincide with scientific findings. In the present study, judges' beliefs regarding CSA were explored. Finnish judges (N = 104) answered a questionnaire about CSA related issues as well as questions regarding their professional experience of CSA cases. The judges held both correct and incorrect beliefs; while their CSA prevalence estimates were rather well in line with research findings, half of the participants estimated that no professionals use suggestive methods when interviewing children and more than 40% thought suggestive methods can be useful when trying to get a child to tell about real events. Judges correctly assumed symptoms cannot be used to assess a CSA case, however, the majority thought play observations were appropriate means for evaluating such suspicions. Experience seemed to lead to more confidence in their own expertise but not in an actual increase in knowledge, namely, judges thought themselves more expert when more experienced although their expertise as measured by the questionnaire did not improve. Overall, the judges had both correct and erroneous beliefs but while experience did not improve the situation, gaining information about CSA did. More research about the beliefs of judges and how such beliefs impact legal decision-making is needed.
Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims o... more Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 47 , 109-119.
Previous studies have found that legal interviews with children often are conducted in a language... more Previous studies have found that legal interviews with children often are conducted in a language that exceeds the cognitive level of the interviewed children. In the present study, investigative interviews with 3Á8-year-old children (n043) in cases of suspected child sexual abuse (CSA) were analysed. Interviewers were mental health professionals working with children, and thus it was hypothesized that they would conduct the interviews using language that would be age-appropriate for the young interviewees. However, results showed that the language used included long and complex sentences, multiple questions before the child was allowed to answer, as well as unclear references to persons and situations. These were all associated with fewer details from the child and they also raise concerns about the credibility of the information gained in these interviews. Interviewers had some age sensitivity; all categories occurred more frequently in interviews with older (6Á8 years) than with younger children (3Á5 years), except for the unclear references. The interviewers often introduced the topic of abuse in a leading yet unclear way, and the interviews were characterized by fluctuation between on-and off-topic discussions, adding to the concerns. The issue of how to more properly and age-appropriately conduct CSA interviews needs further attention, both within research and in attempts to translate research findings into clinical practice.
A non-representative sample of 27 investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual... more A non-representative sample of 27 investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Finland were analysed. Aspects such as the effects of interview phase, repeated interviewing, another (related) person attending the interview, as well as the use of anatomically detailed (AD) dolls were considered. The number of new details reported by the child was higher in the
ABSTRACT Within investigations of suspected child abuse, the child's account is often at ... more ABSTRACT Within investigations of suspected child abuse, the child's account is often at the core of the judicial process. When analysing the child's account, it is therefore important to consider how parents may have discussed the suspected abuse prior to the official investigation. However, no studies up to the present time have investigated discussions in real cases where parents suspect that their children have been abused. We analysed a sample (N = 19) of recorded conversations between parents and their children, delivered to the police as evidence for alleged physical or sexual abuse. Analyses of the questions used and the information provided in the discussions showed that the parent's strategies when questioning their children were extremely leading and that in the majority of the cases, all new information was provided by the parents. In spite of this, the parents deemed the recorded conversations as records of the children's accounts. While the sample was small and likely to be unrepresentative of child abuse suspicions in general, the findings have important practical implications. The results indicate that when planning an interview in a case where the alleged abuse relies on what a child allegedly has told a parent, particular caution should be taken when referring to these conversations.
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2008
The quality of a representative sample of 43 forensic interviews with alleged victims (aged 3 – 8... more The quality of a representative sample of 43 forensic interviews with alleged victims (aged 3 – 8 years) of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Finland was investigated. Interviews were coded for type of interviewer utterance, type of child response, details in the child response and number of words in each utterance. Option-posing, specific suggestive and unspecific suggestive question types comprised almost 50%
Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 2015
ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to review an evidence-based tool for training child forensi... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to review an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol (NICHD Protocol), with a specific focus on how the Protocol is being adapted in various countries. The authors include international contributions from experienced trainers, practitioners, and scientists, who are already using the Protocol or whose national or regional procedures have been directly influenced by the NICHD Protocol research (Canada, Finland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, and USA). Throughout the review, these experts comment on: how and when the Protocol was adopted in their country; who uses it; training procedures; challenges to implementation and translation; and other pertinent aspects. The authors aim to further promote good interviewing practice by sharing the experiences of these international experts. The NICHD Protocol can be easily incorporated into existing training programs worldwide and is available for free. It was originally developed in English and Hebrew and is available in several other languages. This paper reviews an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the NICHD Protocol. It has been extensively studied and reviewed over the past 20 years. This paper is unique in that it brings together practitioners who are actually responsible for training forensic interviewers and conducting forensic interviews from all around the world.
Upon a raised suspicion of child sexual abuse, time must be taken to control and calm down tne si... more Upon a raised suspicion of child sexual abuse, time must be taken to control and calm down tne situation. It is important for those working with children to take actions without causing problems to the course of the possible criminal process. Advance issue with treatment guidelines is a good way to confirm adequate basic information about the phenomenon. Hearing the child and detailed documentation of the information are essential. Excessive questioning may have a negative impact on the criminal process. The urgency of somatic investigations is determined by the last possible time of occurrence of the suspected abuse.
ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to explore whether psychologists, lawyers, and psychology st... more ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to explore whether psychologists, lawyers, and psychology students would be able to predict how children behave in memory and suggestibility experiments and if this ability is associated with different measures of experience. The participants (N = 63) were to predict the results of a series of published research studies pertaining to children's memory and suggestibility. The results indicated that the ability of the participants to predict the behavior of children was overall low and unrelated to experience. It was concluded that professionals who should be able to assess children's functioning as witnesses may not be able to do so.
According to Finnish Child Welfare Law, the authorities are obligated to report suspicions of chi... more According to Finnish Child Welfare Law, the authorities are obligated to report suspicions of child sexual abuse immediately to the police and to social services to ensure the well being of the child. The investigating police may request assistance for forensic interviews and medical assessments from specialized units. The child's disclosure is often the most important part of the evaluation. The timing of medical examination is crucial to obtain biological trace of evidence and to document evidence of acute injury or infection. The need for crisis support must be evaluated.
International Journal of Educational Development, 2008
The phenomenon of extra tuition is witnessed in many countries and some educationalists have desc... more The phenomenon of extra tuition is witnessed in many countries and some educationalists have described it as a parallel education system. However, the incidence and impact of extra tuition have often not been studied systematically, especially in Africa. In this article cross-national data for six African education systems (Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia and Zanzibar) collected by SACMEQ, the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality, have been used to assess: (a) the incidence and growth of extra tuition, (b) the characteristics of students who received extra tuition, and (c) the association between extra tuition and student achievement. The analyses presented in this paper showed that extra tuition was a widespread phenomenon in all six education systems, and that receiving extra tuition was positively associated with the socio-economic levels of students' home backgrounds. The association between tuition and student achievement was mixed. The issues and challenges associated with tuition have been discussed and some suggestions for further research made. r
ABSTRACT We examined how judges evaluate four characteristics when choosing an expert witness for... more ABSTRACT We examined how judges evaluate four characteristics when choosing an expert witness for a forensic psychological or psychiatric case. We asked 87 judges to read short descriptions of legal cases and asked them to choose the best expert witness from a pool of experts who differed based on the following four criteria: the expert could be a psychologist or a psychiatrist, have or not have work experience, have or not have a leadership role, and have or not have publications in the field. The results showed that the judges considered the expert's work experience as a necessary criterion without which the witness cannot be chosen. Also, they considered having publications in the field as important and covering leadership roles as useless, if not harmful. Further, the judges demonstrated to be accurate in choosing a psychologist or a psychiatrist according to the presented legal case. Analyzing separately the impact of the judges' age and gender on their choosing style, we observed a trend for male judges to value leadership roles and no significant impact of age on the responses given. The study highlights how the selection of expert witnesses is strongly driven by the expert's work experience which, however, may not always be a reliable cue of actual expertise both in the psychological and psychiatric fields.
Beliefs impact our decision-making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs ab... more Beliefs impact our decision-making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs about child sexual abuse (CSA) that do not coincide with scientific findings. In the present study, judges' beliefs regarding CSA were explored. Finnish judges (N = 104) answered a questionnaire about CSA related issues as well as questions regarding their professional experience of CSA cases. The judges held both correct and incorrect beliefs; while their CSA prevalence estimates were rather well in line with research findings, half of the participants estimated that no professionals use suggestive methods when interviewing children and more than 40% thought suggestive methods can be useful when trying to get a child to tell about real events. Judges correctly assumed symptoms cannot be used to assess a CSA case, however, the majority thought play observations were appropriate means for evaluating such suspicions. Experience seemed to lead to more confidence in their own expertise but not in an actual increase in knowledge, namely, judges thought themselves more expert when more experienced although their expertise as measured by the questionnaire did not improve. Overall, the judges had both correct and erroneous beliefs but while experience did not improve the situation, gaining information about CSA did. More research about the beliefs of judges and how such beliefs impact legal decision-making is needed.
Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims o... more Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , 47 , 109-119.
Previous studies have found that legal interviews with children often are conducted in a language... more Previous studies have found that legal interviews with children often are conducted in a language that exceeds the cognitive level of the interviewed children. In the present study, investigative interviews with 3Á8-year-old children (n043) in cases of suspected child sexual abuse (CSA) were analysed. Interviewers were mental health professionals working with children, and thus it was hypothesized that they would conduct the interviews using language that would be age-appropriate for the young interviewees. However, results showed that the language used included long and complex sentences, multiple questions before the child was allowed to answer, as well as unclear references to persons and situations. These were all associated with fewer details from the child and they also raise concerns about the credibility of the information gained in these interviews. Interviewers had some age sensitivity; all categories occurred more frequently in interviews with older (6Á8 years) than with younger children (3Á5 years), except for the unclear references. The interviewers often introduced the topic of abuse in a leading yet unclear way, and the interviews were characterized by fluctuation between on-and off-topic discussions, adding to the concerns. The issue of how to more properly and age-appropriately conduct CSA interviews needs further attention, both within research and in attempts to translate research findings into clinical practice.
A non-representative sample of 27 investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual... more A non-representative sample of 27 investigative interviews with suspected victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Finland were analysed. Aspects such as the effects of interview phase, repeated interviewing, another (related) person attending the interview, as well as the use of anatomically detailed (AD) dolls were considered. The number of new details reported by the child was higher in the
ABSTRACT Within investigations of suspected child abuse, the child's account is often at ... more ABSTRACT Within investigations of suspected child abuse, the child's account is often at the core of the judicial process. When analysing the child's account, it is therefore important to consider how parents may have discussed the suspected abuse prior to the official investigation. However, no studies up to the present time have investigated discussions in real cases where parents suspect that their children have been abused. We analysed a sample (N = 19) of recorded conversations between parents and their children, delivered to the police as evidence for alleged physical or sexual abuse. Analyses of the questions used and the information provided in the discussions showed that the parent's strategies when questioning their children were extremely leading and that in the majority of the cases, all new information was provided by the parents. In spite of this, the parents deemed the recorded conversations as records of the children's accounts. While the sample was small and likely to be unrepresentative of child abuse suspicions in general, the findings have important practical implications. The results indicate that when planning an interview in a case where the alleged abuse relies on what a child allegedly has told a parent, particular caution should be taken when referring to these conversations.
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2008
The quality of a representative sample of 43 forensic interviews with alleged victims (aged 3 – 8... more The quality of a representative sample of 43 forensic interviews with alleged victims (aged 3 – 8 years) of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Finland was investigated. Interviews were coded for type of interviewer utterance, type of child response, details in the child response and number of words in each utterance. Option-posing, specific suggestive and unspecific suggestive question types comprised almost 50%
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