Summary
While best practice guidelines generally recommend that in cases of suspected child sexual abuse it is preferable to use a single interview by a skilled forensic interviewer, for children who have difficulty disclosing in a single meeting more time might be required. This study compared results obtained from a four session (three sessions with the child) and an eight-session (seven sessions with the child) protocol tested in 18 forensic interview sites across the United States. The sample consisted of 137 children, ages 2 through 17 (M = 6.26) who were randomly assigned to one of the two protocols. Children assigned to the eight-session protocol were significantly more likely to provide a “credible disclosure” of sexual abuse (56.6%) than were children assigned to the four-session protocol (29.5%). For children in the eight-session protocol, 95% of new disclosures occurred by the sixth session.
Methodological Notes
All interviewers participated in a two-day training session supported by a 225-page manual describing the four and eight session extended evaluations protocols. Data were gathered by the interviewers and independently reviewed by the authors. Follow-up information was gathered for any case classified as “sexual abuse likely”.