Stress Factors During Interviews and Questioning

Professionals conducting interviews or questioning children face complex challenges. They must, on the one hand, gather as complete and credible information from the child as possible and, on the other, be careful not to cause a "second wound" to the child, who is attempting to recount emotionally painful events in their life. To successfully navigate these tasks, interviewers need to understand the child's perspective during the interview and recognize the potential effects of past abuse and neglect on the child's mental state and development. Considering these experiences and their impact should guide the entire interaction process with the child, throughout both the investigation and court stages.

Social and Psychological Factors

"Since shyness in front of strangers and the anticipated anxiety or nervousness during an interview/questioning can foster suggestibility, any measures aimed at reducing these factors may enhance the reliability of the information obtained." - Drake/2009

Professionals who evaluate factors that increase suggestibility take steps to minimize them during interactions with the child. However, many interviewers are unaware that what they do or do not do during questioning can affect the child's level of suggestibility. Additionally, the child's pre-existing attitude towards the interview process and their perception of it may already predispose them to suggestibility, independent of the interviewer’s behavior. Therefore, if a child arrives for an interview already feeling negative and remains tense and anxious throughout, the quality of the information gathered will likely be negatively affected.

For this reason, it’s essential for interviewers to put themselves in the child’s place. Qualified interviewers are able to bridge the gap between the adult world they inhabit and the world of the child being interviewed. What does the interview process mean for the child? How does the child understand its purpose? Who prepared them for it, and what did they tell them? If the interviewer explains at the outset what the process entails, its purpose, and what will happen, this can reduce the child’s level of tension and thereby limit suggestibility.

For children with chronic traumatic experiences, it’s necessary to begin the interview by reassuring them that nothing unexpected or dangerous will happen. This is one step towards reducing the child’s suggestibility.

Professionals should also consider the child’s age and developmental stage when speaking with them. Otherwise, the child may not fully understand or properly interpret the interviewer’s words, which can create a sense of confusion and intensify their anxiety.

Emotional Environment

Some interviewers try to obtain information from the child through threats, rewards, or bribes. Many interviewers deny doing this and may even be offended by the suggestion: “Not me! I would never do that!” The problem is that, in most cases, these strategies operate below the level of conscious awareness. One of the most critical skills for interviewers is to remain continuously aware of every nuance of their behavior and language.

During an interview, when the child “opens up,” interviewers often exhibit satisfaction (or even joy!). In such cases, they may openly congratulate or praise the child, saying, “Good job, you’re telling the story well. Keep going.” While the motivation behind this is usually to support and encourage the child to share difficult experiences, it’s best for interviewers to refrain from selective social reinforcement of this kind, whether verbal or non-verbal.

Interviewers may also show displeasure if the child does not provide the desired information, which could add to the child’s stress. Therefore, it’s important for interviewers to maintain a neutral position and a consistent emotional tone throughout the interview. However, this doesn’t mean they should distance themselves from the child or ignore the child’s needs and communication initiatives.

If the interviewer sees signs of fear, anxiety, or tension in the child, they should not ignore these signs or try to push the interview to its conclusion at all costs. Without a proper response to these signals, the child may experience increasing emotional discomfort, which will negatively affect the outcome of the interview.

Recall - Telling the Story

Many frightening events that happen to children often remain untold. Children are unlikely to speak openly with a police officer, social worker, or other professional about what they remember or can recall about the abuse. Many children have gone through experiences they do not wish to discuss. They may feel ashamed, or the act of remembering may be emotionally distressing. Children may also fear that disclosing the abuse could lead to complications in the future.

Children might deny the events or say they don’t remember. If there is clear evidence that something happened, but the child says nothing about it, the interviewer should consider which of the following circumstances might be relevant in this particular case:
1. Nothing happened to the child, and there is nothing to remember.
2. Something happened to the child, and they remember it, but it’s difficult for them to talk about it.
3. The child went through something, remembers it, but doesn’t want to discuss it.

The professional should determine which of these circumstances applies to the specific case. This can be achieved by asking the child, “Do you not remember, or do you not want to talk about it?”

Stereotypes

It is common for interviewers to express opinions about the alleged perpetrator when the child names them as the person who committed the abuse. The interviewer might say, “That’s a bad person,” or “They shouldn’t have done this to you.” However, it is crucial that when the child names the alleged perpetrator, the interviewer maintains neutrality and does not express personal opinions, especially when dealing with a suspected perpetrator whose guilt has not yet been proven.