Interviewing Children: The Science of Conversation in Forensic Contexts

Interviewing Children is an accessible guide for forensic interviewers, clinicians, attorneys, and other professionals who rely on children’s testimony.

In this second edition, Poole and Dickinson present new thematic chapters on conversation habits, conventional content, and protocols for training.

Highlights include:

• Sample dialogues that help flesh out and illustrate research-based recommendations for practice 
• quick guides that synthesize core ideas and skills
• "Principles to Practice" sections that answer questions about child interviewing; and
• a comprehensive appendix of learning activities readers can use to sharpen their interviewing skills.

The primary goal of all conversations with child witnesses is to help children describe events in their lives as completely, accurately, and unambiguously as they can. But common obstacles can make this task difficult, if not impossible. Interviewing Children offers a comprehensive look at the science of conversation with children in forensic contexts and provides the research-based tools and practices for navigating these obstacles.

Debra A. Poole, PhD, is an emeritus professor of psychology at Central Michigan University. After receiving a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Iowa, her laboratory studied children’s eyewitness testimony and the impact of interviewing techniques on young witnesses’ reports. Her research, funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation, has explored the impact of repeated questioning, how children respond to different question forms, the influence of misinformation from parents on children’s event narratives, the risks and benefits of interview aids, and children’s eyewitness reports during tele-forensic interviews. She has worked with policy groups to craft interview protocols and has served on the editorial boards of Law & Human Behavior and Psychology, Public Policy, & Law.

Jason Dickinson, PhD, received a doctorate in legal psychology from Florida International University and is currently a professor of psychology at Montclair State University. As former director of the Robert D. McCormick Center for Child Advocacy and Policy, he oversaw the formation of the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy, where he served as acting chair and directed development of the Master of Social Work program. He also served as the principal investigator for direct service and workforce training grants from New Jersey's Department of Children and Families. His research on children’s eyewitness testimony, funded by the National Science Foundation, compares strategies for interviewing children and fresh complaint witnesses. He frequently consults with attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement, and the child protection community to help translate research findings into public policy.