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The effectiveness of the Revised Protocol's supportive techniques in eliciting information from children disclosing physical abuse

  • 0The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. Electronic address: yael.karni-visel@biu.ac.il.
Child abuse & neglect +

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May 15, 2025

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Allegedly maltreated children are often reluctant to disclose information about abusive events during forensic interviews. The Revised NICHD Protocol (RP), which emphasizes interviewer support, has been shown to enhance children's testimonies.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the types of supportive techniques used during forensic interviews and assess their effectiveness in eliciting from children emotional content and forensic details about their alleged physical abuse.

METHODS

Interviews were conducted throughout Israel with 165 children (44.8 % girls) aged 4 to 14 (M = 9.3, SD = 2.33) who disclosed multiple incidents of physical abuse by their parents. Multilevel regressions assessed the effects of support types on the children's emotional expression and the forensic details they provided.

RESULTS

Analyses showed that reinforcement (22.3 %) was the most widely used technique. Unconditional support predicted overall emotional expression (B = 0.576), maintaining a relationship predicted negative emotional expression (B = 0.568), and encouragement predicted reporting of forensic details (B = 0.98). Emotional support for negative emotions related to the interview negatively predicted reporting of forensic details (B = -0.601).

CONCLUSIONS

Tailored support that addresses children's emotional and cognitive needs is essential for optimizing interview outcomes, highlighting the importance of interviewers using a nuanced approach to elicit comprehensive testimonies.

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