Abstract:Using evidence-based guidelines to interview children is an important means to obtain complete and accurate accounts. In the current study, we examined the quality of child investigative interviewing in the Netherlands. To examine this, we compared the Dutch Scenario Model with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol and interviews from countries that did not follow a specific protocol. Our principal result was that Dutch child interviewers rarely asked recommended open prompts th… Show more
“…We fully agree that the first empirical paper on the quality of the Scenario Model has limitations (Otgaar et al, ). Like Rispens et al (in press) correctly stated, we only concentrated on the type of questions used in the Scenario Model interviews, to estimate interview quality, a strategy that has been used in previous studies (e.g., Cyr & Lamb, ; Orbach et al, ).…”
Section: Points Of Agreementsupporting
confidence: 85%
“…In a recent paper (Otgaar et al, ), we reported on the first empirical investigation into the Scenario Model, an interview method used by the Dutch police to interview alleged child victims of abuse. We found that open prompts, known to elicit detailed and accurate statements in children, were rarely used.…”
In a recent paper , we reported on the first empirical investigation into the Scenario Model, an interview method used by the Dutch police to interview alleged child victims of abuse. We found that open prompts, known to elicit detailed and accurate statements in children, were rarely used. Based on our findings, we argued that on this aspect of conducting child interviews (i.e., the types of questions used), the Scenario Model needs improvement. Rispens et al. (in press)-who developed and teach the Scenario Modelcommented on our findings and disagreed with our conclusion. It is a positive sign that the Dutch police have joined the academic discussion on child investigative interviewing. In this reply, we will argue that Rispens et al. have not used sound arguments to support their conclusion and that we stand by our position that Dutch child interviews need improvement. We will discuss some issues of disagreement but will also focus on topics that we agree on.
“…We fully agree that the first empirical paper on the quality of the Scenario Model has limitations (Otgaar et al, ). Like Rispens et al (in press) correctly stated, we only concentrated on the type of questions used in the Scenario Model interviews, to estimate interview quality, a strategy that has been used in previous studies (e.g., Cyr & Lamb, ; Orbach et al, ).…”
Section: Points Of Agreementsupporting
confidence: 85%
“…In a recent paper (Otgaar et al, ), we reported on the first empirical investigation into the Scenario Model, an interview method used by the Dutch police to interview alleged child victims of abuse. We found that open prompts, known to elicit detailed and accurate statements in children, were rarely used.…”
In a recent paper , we reported on the first empirical investigation into the Scenario Model, an interview method used by the Dutch police to interview alleged child victims of abuse. We found that open prompts, known to elicit detailed and accurate statements in children, were rarely used. Based on our findings, we argued that on this aspect of conducting child interviews (i.e., the types of questions used), the Scenario Model needs improvement. Rispens et al. (in press)-who developed and teach the Scenario Modelcommented on our findings and disagreed with our conclusion. It is a positive sign that the Dutch police have joined the academic discussion on child investigative interviewing. In this reply, we will argue that Rispens et al. have not used sound arguments to support their conclusion and that we stand by our position that Dutch child interviews need improvement. We will discuss some issues of disagreement but will also focus on topics that we agree on.
“…In our opinion, Otgaar and colleagues () state wrongly that the Scenario Model does not focus on the continuous use of open‐ended prompts. In handouts, guidance books, e‐learning modules, and training of the Scenario Model, there is much emphasis on different types of questions and their effect on the retrieval of children's memory (Dekens & Van der Sleen, ).…”
Section: Misunderstandings About Scenario Modelmentioning
confidence: 92%
“…Otgaar and colleagues () judged interviews as “high quality” if open prompts (cued invitations) predominated and as “low quality” if directives and option‐posing questions predominated. In our opinion, their definition of a good interview might be too narrow, since other indicators of a good interview, like the absence of suggestive questions, can be specified.…”
Section: Definition Of Qualitymentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In this issue, a study is published concerning the quality of child investigative interviewing in the Netherlands (Otgaar et al, ), in which Dutch interviews based on the Scenario Model are compared to interviews from other countries based on the NICHD Protocol or no protocol. NICHD stands for National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol (Lamb, Orbach, Hershkowitz, Esplin, & Horowitz, ).…”
Summary
In this commentary, we raise concerns about potential methodological shortcomings in a recent paper by Baugerud et al. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2020, 34, 654–663, which threaten the validity and the interpretative power of the original authors' conclusions. Our concerns relate to (a) the use of a scoring system that fails to account for how children's legal rights have been implemented in the Norwegian legal system; (b) the failure to acknowledge the legal and ethical rationales behind the use of specific procedures in the Norwegian child interviewing model; (c) the lack of justification based on developmental theory or empirical distributions when creating age groups for statistical comparisons; and (d) the seemingly arbitrary and selective use of outcome variables to support a negative interpretation of the Norwegian interviewing model. Finally, because applied research may directly inform policy decisions, we argue that authors need to be particularly transparent with any potential conflicts of interest and have a low threshold for reporting such.
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