COMPUTER-ASSISTED INTERVIEWING FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA COMPUTERPROGRAM TO AID IN INTERVIEWING CHILDREN AGES 3 TO 8 TO ASCERTAIN SEXUAL ABUSE. THE PROGRAM WILL ASSIST THE INTERVIEWER BY PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR THE INTERVIEW AND AN ENVIRONMENT THAT HELPS THE CHILD TELL HER OR HIS STORY. IT WILL ALSO PROVIDE QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, AND IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR THE INTERVIEWER. THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE SEPARATE MODES APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL LEVELS OF THE CHILDREN WITHIN THE TARGET AGE RANGE. INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA PROGRAMS COMMUNICATE WITH ANIMATION, GRAPHICS, AND SOUND, IN ADDITION TO TEXT. EVEN VERY YOUNG CHILDREN WHO DO NOT KNOW HOW TO READ OR USE A KEYBOARD CAN OPERATE THESE EASY-TO-USE PROGRAMS. THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL YIELD MORE INFORMATION THAN TRADITIONAL INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES, BECAUSE IT FACILITATES THE CHILD'S NONVERBAL MODES OF COMMUNICATION AND MITIGATES THE CHILD'S DISTRACTION. IN ADDITION, INTERVIEWERS FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES WILL BE ABLE TO UTLIZE THE TECHNOLOGY'S HYPERTEXT FEATURE TO SELECT QUESTIONS BASED ON THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS AND ON THE PROGRESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW. THE PROGRAM IS EXPECTED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS, AND, THEREFORE, THE SRRESS ON THE CHILD.