B8

CONSENT, COOPERATION AND CREDIBILITY:  ISSUES AND STRATEGIES IN INTERVIEWING ADOLESCENTS

Presenters: Miriam Wolf

Abstract Category: Interviewing    

Instruction Level: Beginner

Presentation: Click Here

Description:      

Implications of adolescent development on their choices and behaviors, your investigation and the forensic interview.

Abstract:

What makes teenagers so difficult to interview?  Why do some teens not view themselves as victims?  Why are their reports of sexual abuse frequently not believed by interviewers or investigators?  This session will describe how typical adolescent development and their decision making skills, can make adolescents vulnerable to sexual abuse and sexual assault, and can affect the manner in which they disclose abuse.  We will look at interviewing strategies -- what works and what doesn't for different kinds of victims and different kinds of cases involving teens -- and describe how a multidisciplinary team can support the victim, his/her family and the investigation.