Anatomically-neutral dolls: Their effects on the memory and suggestibility of 4- to 6-year-old eyewitnesses

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the amount and accuracy of details provided in the eyewitness accounts of preschool-aged children interviewed exclusively with a verbal interview against those interviewed with anatomically-neutral dolls in addition to a verbal interview. Forty-four children, aged 4 to 6 years, were paired up and assigned as participants or observers for an event they engaged in with a confederate. Children's memory was assessed afterwards by (a) The Step-Wise Interview (Yuille, Hunter, Joffe, & Zaparniuk, 1993); (b) the Step-Wise Interview and big dolls; or (c) The Step-Wise Interview and small, detailed dolls and props. Three leading questions were incorporated into the interviews. Results indicated no main effect of interview type on the overall amount or accuracy of the children's accounts. No main effects for interview type or participant versus observer condition were observed for the leading questions. Relative to 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds recalled a greater number of overall details and were more accurate in their accounts with both types of dolls. Females were more accurate than males in their accounts with the small detailed toys and props. Implications for the use of anatomically-neutral dolls in child sexual abuse investigations are discussed.     

Use of nonanatomical dolls in the sexual abuse interview

Controversy exists regarding use of anatomically detailed dolls in child sexual abuse evaluations because of concerns that such dolls may provoke false positive demonstrations of sexually explicit behavior. This study shows that children referred for medical evaluation of sexual abuse will use sexually explicit behavior to demonstrate what has happened to them with nonanatomical dolls as frequently as when they are interviewed with anatomically detailed ones. Over a two-year period, 136 children (aged 24 months to 10 years) were interviewed by the same pediatric interviewer. During the first year sexually anatomically detailed dolls (SAD) were used, and in the subsequent year nonanatomic dolls (NAD) were used. Data was analyzed according to age, sex, and demonstration of sexually explicit behavior. There were 67 children in the NAD group and 69 in the SAD group. Of the NAD group, 72% showed sexually explicit behavior compared to 68% in the SAD group. Comparisons using chi-square analysis revealed no significant differences between NAD and SAD. Results indicated that in the sexual abuse interview setting, use of sexually detailed dolls did not increase children's use of sexually explicit behavior to describe what had happened to them when compared to use of nonanatomical dolls, and that use of either type of doll provides similar information in the interview setting.     

The development of communicative and narrative skills among preschoolers: lessons from forensic interviews about child abuse

This study examined age differences in 299 preschoolers' responses to investigative interviewers' questions exploring the suspected occurrence of child abuse. Analyses focused on the children's tendencies to respond (a) at all, (b) appropriately to the issue raised by the investigator, and (c) informatively, providing previously undisclosed information. Linear developmental trends characterized all types of responding. When the types of prompts were considered, 3- to 4-year-olds responded slightly more informatively to specific (directive) recall prompts than to open-ended prompts whereas children aged 5 and older were more responsive to open-ended recall prompts. The findings suggest that even 3-year-olds can provide information about experienced events when recall processes are activated, although the ability to provide narrative responses to open-ended recall prompts only becomes reliable later in development.     

Use of anatomical dolls among professionals in sexual abuse evaluations

A total of 295 child protection workers, law enforcement officers, mental health practitioners, and physicians were surveyed to ascertain their uses of the anatomical dolls in child sexual abuse evaluations and their interpretations of young children's interactions with the dolls. The dolls enjoy fairly wide use among all four professional groups although most professionals employing the dolls have had little specific training in their use. Law enforcement officers were significantly less likely than the other professionals to view children's demonstrations of sexual acts with the dolls as convincing evidence of sexual abuse. There was no behavior (e.g., undressing the dolls, touching the dolls' genitals) which all professional groups unanimously agreed would be normal play behavior by young children ages 2-5, who had not been sexually abused. Results highlight the need for training resources and normative research.     

Anatomical doll play of preschoolers referred for sexual abuse and those not referred

Anatomical dolls are used to facilitate children's explanations of sexual abuse. The goal of this study was to identify whether children referred for evaluation of possible sexual abuse would react differently to dolls than would nonreferred controls matched on sex, race, and age. A sample of 35 two- through six-year-olds referred to a hospital child abuse clinic were compared to 35 controls. After a rapport-building exercise, each child played under four conditions in a specially prepared room. Two coders, unaware of the child's group membership, viewed each videotaped session and completed separate behavioral checklists. Six conclusions resulted: (1) anatomical dolls did not create undue anxiety; (2) careful interpretation of sexualized play with dolls is needed; (3) dolls did not overstimulate and cause demonstration of sexual activity; (4) sexual abuse could not be diagnosed solely on the basis of doll play; (5) children in both groups inserted their fingers into doll openings; and (6) practitioners must rely on supporting verbal and physical evidence when making the determination of possible sexual abuse. More training and comfort with anatomical dolls and knowledge of normal child development principles are needed by examiners.     

Agreement among professionals about a child's sexual abuse status: interviews with sexually anatomically correct dolls as indicators of abuse.

This study was designed to define clinicians' ratings of the comments, behaviors, and affects of abused children and compare them with the same clinicians' decisions about the child's abuse status. The authors concluded that sexually anatomically correct dolls used alone are inadequate in providing enough information for professionals to accurately assess the abuse status of young children. Also it is unclear what observations of the child by mental health professionals are best correlated with their determinations of a child's abuse status. Of concern was the finding that the mental health professionals were more likely to be in agreement with the interviewer's determination of abuse than with the actual status of the child, suggesting undue influence of the interviewer, or, alternatively, both observer and interviewer were responding to unidentified child factors.     

An assessment of the behavior of sexually abused and nonsexually abused children with anatomically correct dolls

The behaviors of two groups of children were observed and recorded in their play with anatomically correct dolls. One group had been determined to have been sexually abused and the other group had not been determined to have been sexually abused. The findings show that significantly more children who had been sexually abused demonstrated sexual behavior(s) with the anatomically correct dolls than did the group of children who had not been sexually abused. These findings suggest that anatomically correct dolls are a useful instrument in sexual abuse investigations.     

Interviewing young sexual abuse victims with anatomically correct dolls

Two groups of children were interviewed with a structured format to elicit their responses to sexually anatomically correct dolls. Significant differences were found between the responses of children who had not been referred for suspected sexual abuse and those who had. Nonreferred children (n = 25) revealed very few behaviors indicative of abuse whereas referred children (n = 25) demonstrated significantly more sexually related behaviors when presented with the dolls. Of the age groups studied (2-6 years), 3 year olds were the most responsive to the dolls, while older children tended either to reveal their experiences or to become very nonresponsive. The authors argue for the use of structured interview techniques with use of the anatomical dolls and the collection of normative comparison data relative to the evaluation of suspected sexual abuse.     

The variability of practice in interviews used by professionals to investigate child sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine: (1) the variability of interview practice among professionals who interview children to investigate suspected sexual abuse; (2) the relationship between interview practice and respondent characteristics; (3) the characteristics of interviewers who used the anatomically correct dolls in the course of their interviews. METHOD: Sixty investigatory interviewers completed questionnaires focusing on professional background, training, and interview practice. RESULTS: Interview practice varied considerably and some practices were at odds with the recommendations of the literature. Most of this variability was not accounted for by the respondent variables examined. Where there was evidence for an association, the interviewers' professional background, number of interviews conducted in the previous year, and whether or not they used the anatomically correct dolls appeared to influence practice, whereas general training and specific training in child sexual abuse had no significant effect. Only a minority (36%) used the anatomically correct dolls and none of the interviewer characteristics evaluated differentiated them from non doll-users. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample interview practices varied considerably and did not appear to be influenced by the interviewer's specific or general training. Further research is needed to focus on the comparative effectiveness of different interview techniques and the comparative effectiveness of different training programs in influencing interviewing practice.     

Investigative interviews of alleged sexual abuse victims with and without anatomical dolls

Verbal and nonverbal responses by alleged victims of child sexual abuse were coded for length, amount of information, and the manner in which they were elicited by the interviewer. In 16 of the interviews, anatomical dolls were employed for the purposes of demonstration, whereas they were not used in another eight cases matched with respect to other characteristics of the children and the alleged events. Children interviewed with dolls provided an equivalent number of details and spoke as many words in the substantive portion of the interview as did children interviewed without dolls, and interviewers in the two groups used similar probes to elicit information. However, the average responses by the children were significantly longer and more detailed when dolls were not used. Children gave longer and more detailed responses to open-ended invitations when dolls were not used. Caution is necessary when interpreting these findings.     

Use of anatomical dolls by Boston-area professionals.

Anatomical dolls are a widely used but controversial tool for interviewing child victims of sexual abuse. The present research examines how a representative sample of professionals who evaluate children actually use the dolls. Contrary to past reports, the results revealed that 96.6% of professionals who use the dolls had received training in anatomical doll use, 77.8% followed some standard protocol for interviewing, and 97.3% had at least 1 year of experience with anatomical dolls. The results also revealed that the majority of professionals did not engage in the "leading" behaviors of presenting unclothed dolls to children or undressing the dolls for the child, again contrary to past reports. The present research indicates that the professionals in this sample are more experienced and better trained than is typically thought.     

Parental Beliefs and Children's School Performance

Immigrant parents from Cambodia, Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam and native-born Anglo-American and Mexican-American parents responded to questions about child rearing, what teachers of first and second graders should teach their children, and what characterizes an intelligent child. Immigrant parents rated conforming to external standards as being more important to develop in their children than developing autonomous behaviors. In contrast, American-born parents favored developing autonomy over conformity. Parents from all groups except Anglo-Americans indicated that noncognitive characteristics (i.e., motivation, social skills, and practical school skills) were as important as or more important than cognitive characteristics (i.e., problem-solving skills, verbal ability, creative ability) were to their conceptions of an intelligent first-grade child. Parental beliefs about conformity were correlated with measures of kindergarten (5- and 6-year-olds) and first- (6- and 7-year-olds) and second-grader (7- and 8-year-olds) children's school performance (i.e., teacher ratings of children's classroom performance; Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills reading, math, and language scores; and Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test scores).     

Acting out the details of a pediatric check-up: the impact of interview condition and behavioral style on children's memory reports

This investigation was designed to determine whether an enactment interview condition involving a doll and props, in contrast to a verbal interview, would enhance 3- and 5-year-olds' (N = 62) recall of a pediatric examination. An additional aim was to explore the influence of behavioral styles and language skills on children's performance, and the extent to which these relations varied by age and interview condition. Both 1- and 6-weeks following their check-ups, the children in the enactment condition, particularly the 3-year-olds, provided more spontaneous, elaborate reports than did those assessed with a verbal protocol. Nonetheless, enactment also resulted in increased errors by the 3-year-olds at the first interview, and by children in both age groups after the 6-week delay. The age and interview condition effects, however, were moderated by the children's behavioral characteristics. Among the younger children, a measure of manageability predicted performance in the enactment setting, whereas an indicator of persistence was associated with recall in the verbal condition. The results have implications for an understanding of children's memory of events and of their ability to provide testimony in legal settings.     

Nearly 4 years after an event: children's eyewitness memory and adults' perceptions of children's accuracy

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined children's eyewitness memory nearly 4 years after an event and the ability of adults to evaluate such memory. METHOD: In Phase 1, 7- and 10-year olds were interviewed about a past event after a nearly 4-year delay. The interview included leading questions relevant to child abuse as well as statements designed to implicate the original confederate. In Phase 2, laypersons and professionals watched a videotaped interview (from Phase 1) that they were misled to believe was from an ongoing abuse investigation. Respondents then rated the child's accuracy and credibility, and the probability that the child had been abused. RESULTS: In Phase 1, few significant age differences in memory accuracy were found, perhaps owing in part to small sample size. Although children made a variety of commission errors, none claimed outright to have been abused. Nevertheless, some of the children's answers (e.g., saying that their picture had been taken, or that they had been in a bathtub) might cause concern in a forensic setting. In Phase 2, professional and nonprofessional respondents were unable to reliably estimate the overall accuracy of children's statements. However, respondents were able to reasonably estimate the accuracy of children's answers to abuse questions. Respondents were also more likely to think that 7-year olds compared to 10-year olds had been abused. Professionals were significantly less likely than nonprofessionals to believe that credible evidence of abuse existed. Professionals who indicated personal experience with child abuse or a close relationship with an abuse victim were more likely to rate children as abused. A gender bias to rate boys as more accurate than girls was apparent among laypersons but not professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Children were generally resistant to suggestions that abuse occurred during a long-ago generally forgotten event, but some potentially concerning errors were made. Both professionals and non-professionals had difficulty estimating the accuracy of children's reports, but adults were more likely to rate children as accurate if the children answered abuse-related questions correctly. Training and personal experience were associated with adults' ratings of children's reports. Implications for evaluations of child abuse reports are discussed.     

Social Interactions in Preschool Classrooms and the Development of Young Children's Conceptions of the Personal

Two studies examined preschool teacher and child interactions regarding personal, moral, and social-conventional issues in the classroom and the development of personal concepts in young children. In Study 1, 20 preschool classrooms, 10 with 3-year-olds and 10 with 4-year-olds, were observed to assess children's and teachers' interactions regarding personal, moral, social-conventional, and mixed events. Teachers used more direct messages regarding moral and social-conventional events than personal and mixed events. Teachers offered children choices, but they rarely negotiated personal events with children. Children responded with personal choice assertions when adults offered them choices, but adults did not differ in the frequency that they negated or affirmed children's assertions of personal choice. In Study 2, 120 preschool children, nearly evenly divided between males and females at 3, 4, and 5 years of age, were interviewed regarding their conceptions of personal events in the classroom and home. With age, children judged that they should retain control over personal decisions in both contexts. In both judgments and social interactions, teachers and children identified a personal domain in which children can and should make choices about how to structure their activities and assert their independence in the classroom.     

Dynamics of forensic interviews with suspected abuse victims who do not disclose abuse

OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to explore structural differences between forensic interviews in which children made allegations and those in which children did not make allegations. METHODOLOGY: Fifty forensic interviews of 4- to 13-year-old suspected victims of abuse who did not disclose abuse during the interview were compared with the same number of forensic interviews of alleged victims who made allegations of sexual or physical abuse. Only cases in which there was substantial reason to believe that abuse had taken place were included in the study. Audiotapes of the interviews were examined with a focus on interviewer utterances and children's responses during the pre-substantive rapport-building, episodic memory training, and 'getting the allegation' phases of the interviews, which all employed the NICHD Investigative Interview Guide. FINDINGS: Forensic interviews which yielded allegations of child abuse were characterized by quite different dynamics than interviews with children who did not make allegations. When interviewing non-disclosers, interviewers made less frequent use of free recall prompts and offered fewer supportive comments than when interviewing children who made allegations of abuse. Children who did not disclose abuse were somewhat uncooperative, offered fewer details, and gave more uninformative responses, even at the very beginning of the interview, before the interviewers focused on substantive issues and before the interviewers themselves began to behave differently. CONCLUSIONS: A premature focus on substantive issues may prevent children who are not responsive in the episodic memory training phase from disclosing abuse. Identifying reluctant disclosers and making more extensive efforts to build rapport before substantive issues are broached, or interviewing such children in more than one session, may help suspected victims disclose their experiences.     

Do, Show, and Tell: Children's Event Memories Acquired through Direct Experience, Observation, and Stories

To investigate how source of event information influences children's event representations, 5- and 6-year-old children were exposed to a novel event through direct experience, observation, or a story. 2 of the 4 scenes comprising the event contained actions that were logically organized, and the remaining 2 scenes contained actions that were arbitrary in their organization. Children received either 1 or 3 exposures to the event. For children receiving multiple exposures, 2 scenes contained actions that varied across exposures. A few days following their last exposure, children were asked to verbally recall and reenact the event. Reports were generally more complete, organized, and accurate when the event was directly experienced compared to when it was observed or heard about through a story. However, the impact of information source interacted with interview (recall, reenactment) and number of event exposures. Furthermore, children's sensitivity to event structure was dependent on information source and exposure. These results highlight the importance of information source in the formation of children's event representations.     

Developmental Changes in Event Memory

Do developmental differences exist in children's organization of event memories? We explored this question by examining children's recall of standard features of a repeated event versus features that deviated from that event. 4- and 7-year-old children experienced an initially unfamiliar laboratory event (standard event) 1 or 3 times. Following the last visit, deviations from the standard event were introduced (deviation event). Children's recall was assessed 1 week later under free recall and contextual recall conditions. Younger children had more difficulty than older children distinguishing between the standard and deviation visits. That is, 4-year-olds were more confused regarding which event features occurred in the different event visits. 7-year-olds, in contrast, did a better job of correctly remembering the features of the standard and deviation visits. Implications for developmental changes in the organization of general and specific event memory are discussed.     

Young children's comprehension of montage

2 studies examined children's comprehension of brief stop-animation televised segments incorporating elements of cinematic montage such as pans, zooms, and cuts. Children reconstructed the action and dialogue in these segments using the same dolls and settings depicted. In Study 1, there was no effect of cinematic techniques on reconstruction performance of 3- and 5-year-olds as compared to control segments filmed without these techniques. The results challenged the assumption that the use of such techniques per se contributes to young children's poor comprehension of television shows. In Study 2, 12 new segments were produced in which comprehending the montage required inferences of character perspective, implied action sequences, spatial relationships, and simultaneity of different actions. Averaging across all segments, 62% of the 4-year-olds and 88% of the 7-year-olds demonstrated clear comprehension of the montage. Inferences concerning implied action sequences were easiest for both ages. Inferences of simultaneity were most difficult for 4-year-olds, whereas inferences of character perspective were most difficult for 7-year-olds. Preschool children are thus capable of understanding cinematic events conveyed through camera techniques and film editing, despite previous assertions to the contrary. This ability nevertheless substantially increases with age.     

Children's views on child abuse and neglect: findings from an exploratory study with Chinese children in Hong Kong

Objectives

This research study explored children's views on issues about child abuse in Hong Kong and examined their implications on child protection work and research in Chinese societies.

Method

Six primary schools were recruited from different districts of Hong Kong. Five vignettes of child maltreatment in the form of flash movies were presented to 87 children in 12 focus groups for discussion. The process was video-taped and the data were transcribed verbatim for data analysis by NUDIST.

Results

(1) Children do not have a homogeneous view on issues about child abuse and neglect, and their awareness and sensitivity to different kinds of child abuse are also different; (2) some of their views on child abuse and neglect are uniquely their own and are markedly different from those of adults; (3) some of the views expressed by children, however, are very much akin to those of adults, such as the factors they would consider in deciding whether a case is child abuse or not; (4) children's disclosure of abuse in Hong Kong is often affected by the Chinese culture in which they live, like filial piety and loyalty to parents.

Conclusion

Children's views on issues of child abuse and neglect, no matter they are the same or different from those of adults, serve to inform and improve child protection work. Children are not only victims in need of protection. They are also valuable partners with whom adult practitioners should closely work.

Practice implications

Children have, and are able to give, views on child abuse. They should be listened to in any child protection work no matter their views are same with or different from those of adults. As this study suggests, the relatively low sensitivity of the children to child neglect and sexual abuse, and their reluctance to disclose abuse and neglect due to their loyalty to parents are areas to focus on in preventive child protection work in a Chinese society like Hong Kong.