Questioning strategies in interviews with children who may have been sexually abused

This article examines the number and types of questions employed in clinical and computer-assisted interviews with children referred for sexual abuse evaluation. This research was part of a larger study to assess the efficacy of a computer-assisted protocol in the evaluation of child sexual abuse allegations. Interviews of 47 girls and 29 boys, ages 5 to 10 years, referred to a multidisciplinary clinic for sexual abuse assessment, were analyzed. A coding system was developed from interview transcripts. Nine types of questions were defined. Results indicate that during the initial interview children were asked an average of 195 questions (SD = 92) and that more than 85% of interviewer queries were open-ended. The majority of children who disclosed did so in response to focused questions. Findings suggest that many children are able to describe sexual abuse with careful questioning that includes nonleading but focused inquiry. Implications for practice and interviewing guidelines are discussed.