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Children, Assessments and Computer-Assisted Interviewing

NCJ Number
212943
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 14 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2005 Pages: 407-414
Author(s)
Peter Connolly
Date Published
November 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Based on the findings of a research project (Connolly, 1998) and related literature, this article examines whether a computer-assisted interview can be more effective than a clinician's face-to-face interview in obtaining information from children about their emotional health and well-being.
Abstract
The research found that in a comparative analysis of face-to-face clinician interviews and computer-assisted interviews, face-to-face interviews elicited more statements; encouraged more problems to be selected for further discussion during the second interviews; and obtained a wider range of spontaneous and imaginative responses from the children about their lives and concerns. The author suggests that a computer-based questionnaire might be a helpful preinterview activity for a child or youth before they are interviewed directly by a clinician. The research involved 25 children between the ages of 8 and 12 (17 boys and 8 girls), who were interviewed by the same clinician on 2 occasions. The main presenting problems of the children were a range of emotional and behavioral problems identified by an adult who had discussed these concerns with the child's primary physician. One of the primary themes identified was the children's reactions to loss and separation, often caused by parental separation or bereavement. The children were randomly divided into two groups, defined only by the method of interviewing used: computer-assisted or face-to-face. The computer version of the interviewing schedule used a software program named InterView, described as a "generic interview manager." 1 table and 15 references