Abstract
Although previous research has confirmed the effectiveness of simulated child sexual abuse interviews with feedback, its validation is limited to Western contexts and face-to-face settings. The present study aims to extend this research to non-Western and online/remote training conditions. Thirty-two Japanese undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a control or feedback group. The feedback group conducted a set of six online simulated child sexual abuse interviews while receiving feedback after each interview in an attempt to improve the quality of their questioning style. The feedback consisted of the outcome of the alleged cases and the quality of the questions asked in the interviews. The control group conducted the interviews without feedback. The feedback (vs. control) increased the proportion of recommended questions (first interview: 45%; last interview: 65% vs. first: 43%; last: 42%, respectively) by using fewer not-recommended questions and eliciting fewer incorrect details. Furthermore, only participants in the feedback group (7 out of 17) demonstrated a reliable change in the proportion of recommended questions. The present study explores the efficacy of simulated interview training with avatars in a different cultural setting and in the context of remote administration. The differences between the present study and previous research are discussed in light of cultural and logistical aspects.
Highlights
In most cases of child sexual abuse (CSA), victims tend not to disclose the abuse immediately and clear evidence is rarely found (World Health Organization, 2003)
For the number of recommended questions, no significant main effect was found for feedback [F(1, 30) = 1.09, p = 0.306, ηp2 = 0.04, 1 – β = 0.17] but a significant main effect was found for time [F(5, 150) = 4.25, p = 0.005, ηp2 = 0.12, 1 – β = 0.88] while there was no significant interaction [F(5, 150) = 1.82, p = 0.140, ηp2 = 0.06, 1 – β = 0.50] between feedback and time
For the number of not recommended questions, a significant main effect was found for feedback [F(1, 30) = 4.96, p = 0.034, ηp2 = 0.14, 1 – β = 0.58], no significant main effect was found for time [F(5, 150) = 1.00, p = 0.419, ηp2 = 0.03, 1 – β = 0.35]
Summary
In most cases of child sexual abuse (CSA), victims tend not to disclose the abuse immediately and clear evidence is rarely found (World Health Organization, 2003). Extensive research has confirmed that children are more likely to provide trustworthy information in response to open-ended questions (e.g., Allwood et al, 2008). It is a structured interview protocol that covers all the steps of an investigative interview, including introduction, rapport-building, and free-recall. The use of this protocol results in interviewers using more open-ended questions and eliciting more disclosures from children (Orbach et al, 2000; Sternberg et al, 2001). Most previous research has provided interviewer feedback on interviews with real children. Some of the details regarding what exactly had happened could still be wrong, and there might be no way of determining this later
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