title: In My Shoes - Validation of a computer assisted approach for interviewing children.
abstract: Interviewing young children presents a challenge because they tend to provide incomplete accounts and are easily misled. Therefore there is a need for techniques to improve young children's recall, while maintaining accuracy and increasing completeness. The computer-assisted interview In My Shoes (IMS) is an aid that potentially offers a way for young children to provide accounts of their experiences. This study examined the validity of IMS, by comparing it with a forensic best practice interview approach using a real-life clinical situation to ensure high ecological validity. Children were randomly assigned to either method and both accuracy and completeness of statements made by 4- and 5-year-olds (N=54) regarding a video-documented health check-up were assessed. The In My Shoes interviews were as good as best practice interviews on all accuracy measures for both age groups, except for object accuracy that was better in the forensic interview condition. Events description completeness was similar in both interview conditions; however, IMS interviews generated more complete statements about people present at the visit. The findings suggest that the IMS approach yields comparable results to a best practice interview, and it can be used as an alternative aid in child interviews.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Islandsgatan 2, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: Karin.fangstrom@kbh.uu.se.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fängström
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Islandsgatan 2, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: par.bokstrom@kbh.uu.se.
authors.forename: Pär
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bokström
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Islandsgatan 2, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: anton.dahlberg@kbh.uu.se.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dahlberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Second Floor, Zochonis Building, Brunswick Street, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom. Electronic address: rachel.calam@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calam
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Islandsgatan 2, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: steven.lucas@kbh.uu.se.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Islandsgatan 2, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: anna.sarkadi@kbh.uu.se.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkadi
mesh_terms: D002649:Child Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D015588:Observer Variation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Child; Computer-assisted interview; In My Shoes; Interviewing aid; Validity