Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Nichd Protocol: A Review Of An Internationally-Used Evidence-Based Tool For Training Child Forensic Interviewers, David La Rooy, Sonja P. Brubacher, Anu Aromäki-Stratos, Mireille Cyr, Irit Hershkowitz, Julia Korkman, Trond Myklebust, Makiko Naka, Carlos E. Peixoto, Kim Roberts, Heather Stewart, Michael E. Lamb

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article reviews an evidence-based tool for training child forensic interviewers called the NICHD Protocol, and the relevant research on: children’s memory development; communication; suggestibility; the importance of open-prompts, and challenges associated with interview training. We 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 United States). Throughout the review, these experts comment on: how and when the Protocol was adopted in their country; who uses it; challenges to implementation …

Describing Individual Incidents Of Sexual Abuse: A Review Of Research On The Effects Of Multiple Sources Of Information On Children’S Reports, Kim P. Roberts, Martine B. Powell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective. For successful prosecution of child sexual abuse, children are often required to provide reports about individual, alleged incidents. Although verbally or mentally rehearsing memory of an incident can strengthen memories, children’s report of individual incidents can also be contaminated when they experience other events related to the individual incidents (e.g., informal interviews, dreams of the incident) and/or when they have similar, repeated experiences of an incident as in cases of multiple abuse.

Method. Research is reviewed on the positive and negative effects of these related experiences on the length, accuracy, and structure of children’s reports of a particular incident. …