RESEARCH
Interviewing practices with children have been widely studied in situations where the child is a victim of abuse or has witnessed abuse. These studies suggest best practices including: asking open ended questions, that are developmentally appropriate and not suggestive in any way. However, there is little research focused on interviewing practices with children who may have engaged in PSB. The few studies that exist focused on efficient interview techniques such as using active listening techniques, developing a child’s trust of the interviewer, and avoiding confrontation to obtain the most accurate report of what happened.
There are several studies suggesting that the disclosure process among adult sex offenders is affected by a number of contextual factors. This study by Andréanne Bergeron, Nadine Deslauriers-Varin, Isabelle Daignault, and Patrick Lussier explores the influence of contextual factors on a child’s or teen’s disclosure. These variables are essential knowledge for practitioners to help adjust their intervention in cases of PSB. In fact, creating a context in which a child or teen feels their best option is to disclose PSB is critical to help them access the best available intervention for themselves as well as for the child they have harmed.
Disclosure appears to be influenced by a combination of contextual factors including the role of the person questioning the child or teen, any remorse expressed by the child or teen and the presence of a witness or clear evidence of the PSB.
A child was significantly more likely to disclose and acknowledge responsibility for the reported SBP if there were feelings of guilt about those behaviors. A child is also significantly more likely to disclose their behavior when the strength of the evidence against them is higher (e.g, a witness). Together, these contextual factors also suggests that interviewers who were able to create an empathic and understanding connection with the child and present the facts in a way that allowed the child to express those feelings would be linked to more disclosures.
A parent also has a significant impact on the disclosure process. If the parent reacts negatively, if they are angry with the child, or denies that the situation even exists, the child is more likely to deny his/her/their responsibility. However, if there is no apparent punishment or the parents are supportive of help-seeking behaviors, the child is more likely to disclose. It is important to note that the parent’s first reaction to hearing about the PSB does not reflect their capacity to be protective or responsive to their child’s needs.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONALS
These findings illustrate how understanding the disclosure context is important in determining the most effective context to encourage a child or teen to accept responsibility for their behavior. Furthermore, a disclosure opens up the opportunity for both the child harmed AND the child who caused the harm to get the help and support they need. For years, we have known that a developmentally sensitive approach, adapting questions to the age of the child is critical. This study also emphasizes the importance of the parental role and response as well as the level of witness to any event and how the child/teen perceives their responsibility.
Further, this study highlights the importance of developing strong clinical interviewing skills that build rapport and trust and do not increase shame. How the professional behaves and the attitudes and beliefs they hold can make a difference in how willing a child or adolescent is to be open with an interviewer.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FIELD
This study was conducted in Canada, which like Massachusetts and some other states, does not involve a trial or police intervention if the child is under 12. Therefore, the interview is designed to identify a need for intervention rather than a punishment for their actions. Given the importance of disclosure to trigger resources for the entire family, this study also illustrates the importance of encouraging a child’s disclosure for both the child doing the harm but also the child who was harmed.
Perhaps the most important revelation from this study is that ours is a specialized field where continuous attempts at professional development are vital to the safety of clients and communities alike.
CITATION:
Bergeron, A., Deslauriers-Varin, N., Daignault, I., & Lussier, P. (2022). The disclosure of children who exhibit problematic sexual behaviors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 134, 105923.
ABSTRACT
Background
Practitioners mandated to protect child development are sometimes dealing with children's inappropriate sexual behaviors. This set of behaviors presents a potential hindering impact on the child's development and important consequences for all children involved. Denial during the questioning of the child complicates the investigation of these cases.
Objective
The objective of this study was to explore and to identify the different contexts of questioning in which children disclose or deny having committed a sexual behavior that appears to be problematic for his/her development as well as identifying the individual and contextual variables that influence the outcome of the questioning.
Participants and setting
The sample comprised of 120 instances of inappropriate sexual behavior exhibited by 85 children aged between 5 and 17 years old and reported to the Youth Protection Department at the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network in the province of Quebec, Canada.
Methods
Bivariate statistical analyses were performed to investigate the association between the outcome of disclosure or non-disclosure, and contextual factors (questioning person's role, parents' reaction to the child's behavior, the child's expression of remorse, presence of a witness, use of coercion during the sexual behavior). Logistical regression (GLMM) was then used to determine the strength of the association between the covariates and the outcome of the questioning.
Results
Results show that disclosure appears to be influenced by a combination of contextual variables, namely the role/status of the person questioning the child, expression of remorse reported by the child, and the presence of a witness to the behavior/s.
Conclusions
Our findings point to the importance of developing more comprehensive and specialized knowledge about the questioning context that favors the disclosure of children who are thought to have exhibited inappropriate sexual behaviors.
