Interviewing Child Witnesses under the Memorandum of Good ...

PLANNING THE INTERVIEW
Research has not really addressed implications stemming from the age of the child
(Poole and Lindsay, 1998). However, studies have highlighted that older children
and young people are far from passive participants in interviews (Sas et al., 1995;
Wade and Westcott, 1997; Westcott and Davies, 1996b).
Child’s state of mind
The child’s state of mind in the interview may be influenced by a variety of factors.
Many of these, including the impact of the actual abuse, will be beyond the control
of the interviewer. Although no simple ‘syndrome’ can account for the effects of
sexual or physical abuse (Elliott and Briere, 1994; Kendall-Tackett et al., 1993) and
no single symptom is diagnostic of abuse, some symptoms appear more frequently in
abused children. These are listed below.
Physical abuse
● negative social behaviour, e.g. increased aggression, non-compliance,
conduct disorder, criminal activity;
● possible self-injury and suicidal behaviour;
● increased emotional problems, e.g. anxiety, depression, low self-worth;
and,
● lower intellectual functioning and academic achievement.
Sexual abuse
● fears;
● post-traumatic stress disorder;
● behaviour problems;
● sexualized behaviours; and,
● poor self-esteem.
Clearly, diagnosis of some of these symptoms (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder)
is a matter for the relevant professionals, but interviewers need to be sensitive to
the symptoms and their implications for the way children may behave at interview.
They may also affect perceptions of the child – e.g. in relation to the child’s role in
the abuse, or their credibility. However, some factors can moderate or exacerbate
these effects, such as those relating to the characteristics of the abuse and the child’s
age. The presence of maternal support throughout the whole process appears to be
particularly important for children’s well-being where the mother was not involved
in, or not party to the abuse (e.g. Elliott and Briere, 1994; Goodman et al., 1992).
Another influence on the child’s state of mind at interview is likely to be the
degree of stress experienced. Research has concentrated largely on the effects of the
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