INTERVENiNG QUESTiONING

PROCESS Open-Ended

• What Happened? • Please tell me aboul that • Tell me everyihing you remember • Use further responses Yes”, “Uh-huh”, etc. • What do you do when Mary visits? • Tell roe about one time you remember. Closed

• When you were in the blue house, what did you do? • Did anything happen
in the bathroom? • If I came to your house, what would

I see? • What
is your name for these body parts? • What happened

at bedtime? • Who has red hair? Multiple Choice • Did he touch you with his finger,. his penis, or anything else? a Are you married, divorced
or widowed? • Did this happen
in the morning, noon or. at night? Yes/No

a Did anyone touch your private part? Who? a Didyoursonhurtyou? • Did you tell anyone? • Were your clothes off? • Do you get along with Mary? • Do you have secrets with anyone? • Did you tell your daughter about something that happened? • Have you talked with other people about being afraid? Leading/Suggestible

• Your roommate punched you, didn’t he? • He took your clothes off, right? • Other people have told me someone hurt them. Who did that to you? •

I can tell this is hard for you. How are you feeling right now? Follow-up Questions • What doyoumean? • Tell me more about that. •

I don’t understand. • What happened then? • What else do you remember?.Linda

Dawson a What make you think so?.September

2002INTERVENING QUESTIONS
TO ENHANCE RECALL Looks

• Think about... look like someone you know? • Were you reminded
of anyone? • Anything unusual about appearance? Anything unusual about clothes?, etc. Names

•If aname was spoken.

..try to think of first letter. • Go through the alphabet. • Tell me what you remember.

.

.even partially. Speech

• Think whether the voice reminded youof somebne • How did the voice sound? Conversation

• Think about your reactions

to what was said. •If other people were there what were their reactions? •If I was there, what words would

I have heard? • Show me (demonstrate) how he looked (acted or sounded) when he said that. Dates

•Was it before orafter your birthday? Doctor’s appointment? TV show? •Was it warm orcold outside? •Was it day or night?

# NEW ENGLAND 

# CLINICAL ASSOCIATES STRATEGIES FOR QUESTIONING

CHILDREN By Suzanne
M. Sgroi, M.D. The following strategies

are suggested

for questioning preschoolers (3-5 years

of age) and younger primary-school-age

children (6-10 years). They are applicable

also fDr persons

of any age whose receptive capacity may be limited by language barriers, auditory-perceptual

difficulties

or cognitive

deficits. 1. Use open—ended probes

that access free recall first. Keep

the words and sentences 

# short and simple..For example, say, 

# “Tell us about the Picnic” instead of “Tell us eerdhing you can remember about the picnic you went to with the other children

in your

first grade

ciass.H 2. Use open-ended sequencing probes

to advance the child’s narrative. When the child has finished her or his response

to a question,

ask “What next?” or “Then what happened?” 3. To avoid communicating

bias, use neutral verbal bridges

after each of the child’s responses. Say,
“I see,” or ‘Then what?” instead
of “Good!”
or “That’s terrible!”
or “He shouldn’t have done that!” 4, Use short, simple

sentences (Subject, verb, object).

Askan open-ended question first, and keep

it simple.

For example,

it is preferable

to ask, “What happened

to you at the picnic?”

instead of “Can you tell us if anything

unusual happened

to. you while you were at the picnic?” 5. When necessary,

follow up the open-ended probe

with
a more constricting question.

For example,

ask first, “Who else was at the picnic?” Then,

if necessary,

follow up with
a yeslno question

such as, “Was Donna
at the picnic?” 6. Whenever possible,

use people’s

names instead of pronouns. Ask, “What did Donna say?”

instead of “What did she say?” 7. Whenever possible,

use place

names instead
of pronouns

or adverbs. Ask, “Did Donna go into the bathroom?” instead
of “Is that where she went?” or “Did she go in there?”

,“. fl,TDrt(12 8. Remind the child that
it is permissible

to communicate that she or h does not know the answer
to a question. Say, “Its okay for you to say

‘1 don’t know,’

if you don’t know the answer,” 9. Remember that pre-schoolers probably will not understand the query, “Do you understand?’

It is preferable

to ask instead, “What did

I just say’?” and then affirm or, if necessary, clarify the child’s re-statement

of the question. 10. Try to limit the number of ideas in each question posed to the chi’d (Walker 1994).
A good strategy

is to introduce
no more than two ideas., connected with “and.” For example, when constricting probes are being used, ask, “Did Donna go into the bathroom and lock the door?” (two ideas) instead of, “Do you remember telling us if Donna locked the door or not when she went into the bathroom?” (five ideas). 11. When possible,

it helps to repeat

a phrase
or sentence already used by the child into
a questiori:

If the child said, “Donna locked the door,” try incorporating
this sentence with an interrogative note into the next questibn: “Donna locked the door? What did you do then?” 12. Remember

to use simple words when querying children. Instead
of asking, “Do you recollect what you did subsequent

to discovering that Donna locked the bathroom door?” use the suggested format
in item 11 above, or ask, “Afier Donna locked the door, what did you do then?” REFERENCES Saywitz, Karen; Getselman, Richard; and Bornstein, Geàrge. 1992. “Effects
of Cognitive Interviewing Practice and Interview Site on Children’s Recall Performance.” Journal of Applied Psychology,

: 744-756.* Steward, M.S.; Bussey, K; Goodman, G.S.; Saywitz, K.J. 1993. “Implications

of Developmental Research for. Interviewing Children.” Child Abuse and Neglect, 1Z: 25-37. Walker, Anne G. 1994. Handbook
on Questioning Children:

A Linguistic Perspective. Washington, D.C.: American Bar Association.Lesson 2-D: Investigative

Skills Guidelines for Reducing

Resistance I. Ask for clarification

or additional information

to support what the person said instead of abruptly disapproving

or contradicting

what was said. 2. Find

a point of agreement

to build on, rather than disagreeing.

If you aren’t able to find something

in the content of the discussion, agree with the person’s feelings (e.g., “I can understand your feelings of frustration when you aren’t able to find

a solution that works.”). 3. Control your own natural ego-building

desire to get the upper hand by pointing things out in the other’s point of view. Question the points that are not supported
by examples

or facts when you notice them, but do so in way that keeps the other person’s ego andselfesteem intact. 4. Use every opportunity

to positively reinforce the other person’s behavior, ideas or actions. 5 To get your instructions carried out and reach goals that involve others, remember that people want positive attention paid to what they say and do. They want understanding and clarity on whatis expected of them, along with acceptance
of themselves and their ideas whenever possible. 6. Very rarely will anyone change his or her mind by being asked, told or directed
to do so. If you want to influence the listener
to see things differently, avoid using threatening languae, both verbal and nonverbal. By so doing, you can decrease the need for the listener
to defend himself/herself. 7. Anticipate the things that would influence the listener
to resist—tak them into account, empathize and know the other person. You can get to know others by being aware of: • Their beliefs—how

do they look at the world? • What makes them feel comfortable, confident? • What throws them off balance? • What kind of phrases will help you get through
to them? • What things do they do that are effective
or ineffective? 8. People resist others less and listen to them more because of credibility. Whenever possible, build your credibility through the following means: • Competence—How

much do you know, how much experience
do you have and how well trained are you? • Knowledge—Do
you keep abreast of what is going on and pass the information

on to others? • Dependability

and trustworthiness—How
much can you be trusted
to do what’s
in other people’s interest? Are you sincere and honest? Do you keep your word and not make promises you can’t keep? If in a position of authority,
do you back your people, remain empathetic and see things as others see them? • Energy and drive—Do you have the drive to see things through and do what you say you will? Do you get the job done? • Effective communication—Do

you stay in an attitude of “okay-okay”?

Do you

listen actively
as much as possible? Do you communicate with

a positive, engaging, committed style?V OMS Preceptor Manua)—November 2005

2-D-93Lesson 2-D: Investigative Skills

- Interviewing Difficult People Assess the situation:V• What was difficult for you?VWhat beh&vior
or communication style used did you find difficult, upsetting
or challenging? • Did the person exhibit nonverbal behaviors that say different things than his/her verbal communication?
Did he/she exhibit nonverbal behavior that is distracting

to you? • Next time, what can you do about the answers
to the above? • Did you recognize incongrunt communication when

it happened? • Were you hoping that the person would change? The person
is not going to be different. • Do we have control over what we say and do? For what do we have responsibility?

It is important for each of usto accept what we can change and understand what wehave no control over. • How well planned was your interview? Did you leave with information about the critical issues? Was it the words you used? Was it the individual you interviewed? Was
it the questions you asked? Could you have used different words or questions? Formulate

a plan (e.g., continue
to focus on what the resident needs and what
is best for that person.). —Practice and discuss your struggles with your coach. Ask if you can watch one of • his/her interviews. —Plan to do it differently next time. —Implement your plan. —Reassess your successes. Supportive Communication Defensive versus Supportive Judgmental Descriptive Controlling Problem Solving Strategizing Spontaneous Neutral Empathic Superior
Equal Rigid Flexible Communicating

a criticism supportively:VV• Describe the situation objectively. • Describe the result or outcome

as objectively

as possible.VV• Describe the options you see.VV• Give the other person time to do the thinking you have already done, ask for a time to discuss
or offer to discuss after he/she has considered what you have said. • Be awareof red buttonwords: —.-Always. —Never.VVV —Should.V —Too.

•V -But.V CMS Preceptor Manual—November
2005

•.-2-D-97

## Interview Responses Truthful

Untruthful Calm
Impatient Relaxed

Tense Cooperative

Defensive Concerned Outwardly

Concerned Sincere Overly-Friendly/Polite/Cooperative Open

Defeated Inflexible

Surly* Complaining Cordial Attitudes Common
To Both -Nervous Angry Truthful will become angry when pressured Untruthful will be angry/indignant

from outset of interview QuietInterpretation

of Physical Behaviors Truthful Untruthful Generally erect upper trunk; TRUNK Trunk leans excessively (back, squared shoulders; appears SHOULDER forward,

to sides); shoulders comfortable and relaxed; POSITION slumped, retracted,

or raised; generally good posture POSTURE muscular tension; excesive perspiration; excessive shifis of position Comfortable, relaxed natural HANDS Excessive tension held in movements; hands-warm, dry; ARMS muscles; anns crossed or held may cup head orchin

tight; created tasks

-i.e. lintpicking, covering mouth, nose, eyes; hands damp/clammy;V repeatedly wipes hands on clothing
or other material; gestures

-stiff/unnatural Comfortable; relaxed; feet LEGS Legs extended
or crossed
to planted;
FEET keep interviewer

at distance; legs or ankles crossed recrosses legs
a lot; taps feet; “starter position”; obvious .Vmuscular tension Head-straight; sincere HEAD Head-back

or slumped forward; appearance;
NECK beaten or harried appearance genuine sincere expression; nods in understanding and/or agreement

## Eyes-waun with good contact; EYES Eyes-cold; hostile; rapid eye steady; no contact breaks;

movement; bug eyed; teary 

## or Eyebrows-

moist; poor eye contact with questioning; inquisitive;



## many breaks esp cci ally at interested

significant 

## questions;

closed eyes; eyes supervising

created jobs (contact breaks); frowning Mouth-genuine; sincere; smile- MOUTH Mouth-lips pursed;

bites lip; lower mouth involved; jaw

wets lips constantly; yawns; relaxed



# I sighs; excessive tin-oat clearing; dry mouth; excessive moisture I 

## (drooling

- 

## physical compensation

for dry mouth); deep breaths sinirks; tension in mouth or jaw; excessive swallowing;

smile involving only upper lip-no lower teeth exposed Nose -relaxed FACE Nose-used for created jobs

- 

## i.e. rub, itch, pick Neck-relaxed

NECK Neck

- 

## larynx (Adams’ apple) moves, repeatedly; pulsating carotid artery (blood pressure increase) If difficulty

is encountered differentiating

stress responses

from
ii 

## on— stress responses,

move into
a iion-threatening questioning

area and observe physical

reactions

- 

## then iiiove back to a threatening type area of questioning

and note change

in responses. Try to establish

a “baseliji

e” of each individual’s “norm a!” responses.Verbal Manifestations

of Behavior Verbalization (words) maybe the samefor truthful
oruntruthful Attempt
to establish normal

-i.e. toneof voice, volume, speed, mannerof delivery Truthful Direct, timely responses

to questions; speaks clearlyand understandably; cooperative, butdoesn’t necessarily want tobe yourfriend Answers promptly Untruthful Vague, stammering responses; long pausesin speaking; answersthataretoo longorelaborate; voice seemstolack conviction; mumbles; talks through hand; complaints formed earlyin interview; unsolicited, premature excuses
or explanations

asto why subjeót maynot interview well;triestoalibi storywith uncheckable sources;focuses on irrelevant pointstoback story

-i.e. “why would

Ido something like that,I’ve gota girlfriend”; overly polite; respectful; awed; overly nice Delays
toconsider answer; repeats question (echo); responds with another question; long pausebefore answering; non-response;task priority (cleans glasses, picks fingernails, etc.); coughs; sighs;clears throat Emphasizes truthfulness with“totell you the truth”, “honest
to God”, “honestly”, “tothebestof my knowledge”,
etc.Ina verylarge percentage
of cases,liewill followthis prefix

## Able to recount 

## story repeatedly

with only 

## minor changes Refuses
to admit guilt or consider any kind of restitution; denial shows conviction, strength, and becomes stronger

as interview goes 

## on Rarely will change from original story When confronted, denial gets stronger with time Memory problems

CI 

## can’t remember” especially when memory

is good except for crucial issues Offers restitution; willing
to admit guilt, even though saying they didn’t do it; asks what will happen
if they say they did it; denials lack conviction;

do not gain strength when pressured Story can change
to fit need of the moment; sometimes slips and admits followed by immediate retraction

to original story If confronted, denial gets weaker with time