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As research indicates, children are highly susceptible to a "suggestibility effect", producing "false memories" (see false memory) and/or "incorrect, post-event information" (see misinformation effect) when asked to engage in memory recall. This is most prominent in forensic interviewing and child witness testimony. For example, prominent cases such as that of Kelly Michael's (see Wee Care Nursery School abuse trial), critically indicate that improper interviewing techniques can lead to serious consequences. In order to develop reliable and age appropriate instruments for interviewing children, it is imperative to first thoroughly examine their cognitive development, verbal and mental abilities.

Trace-Integrity Model
According to this model, younger children are more likely to experience "memory intrusions" due to weaker memory traces. Younger children are also more likely to be unable to encode information and experience a "rapid rate of forgetting" than older children. Children are therefore more susceptible to utilize misleading information through a suggestibility effect by blending or replacing memory traces from an original event, essentially overwriting.

Mental State Reasoning Model
This model incorporates theory of mind with research on memory processes to determine the influences of suggestibility in child interviews It indicates that children who have difficulty with conflicting mental representations (see mental representation), are likely to overwrite their original memories with misinformation due to "multiple contradictory representations".

Fuzzy Trace Theory
This is a model embedded in cognitive development research which assumes that memory traces are created and sustained on a "continuum" that move from "literal, factual, verbatim to fuzzy, imprecise, and gist-like" The critical assumption is that a "fuzzy/verbatim" memory trace can be inaccurately represented as "gist", or a concrete, single event that has been influenced by a variation of other memory traces. This is important, as most children tend to demonstrate a bias for producing verbatim traces over any other. Researchers indicate that this may be an underlying reason for the production of false memories due to children's differing access of "gist and verbatim" memories. (see fuzzy-trace theory)

Factors that can impact disclosure
It is critical for a forensic interviewer to recognize their power during an interview, especially with a child witness. An interviewer can significantly impact the course of a child's testimony, for example, by "eliciting false allegations" through leading and suggestive questions, determine the amount of detail a child may disclose, and in some cases, prevent a child from disclosing all together.

Research also indicates that other extraneous factors like the gender of the interviewer can impact the quality and details of disclosure. Studies indicate that children between the ages of 4 and 6 are more likely to disclose to an interviewer of the same gender. As well, research conducted on female and male interviewers suggests that female interviewers are more likely to ask boys suggestive questions than girls, whereas male interviewers did not demonstrate a significant distinction based on the quality of their interview techniques.

The age of a child is also an important factor during interviewing. Younger children are more likely to provide shorter, less detailed accounts of an event in comparison to older children. Some research also indicates that preschool children are more likely to disclose information in an "accidental way" through being triggered, whereas older school children are more likely to make "intentional disclosures" based on the nature of the question they are asked.

Improper Interviewing
There are varying techniques and extraneous factors that can significantly influence the way in which a child discloses an event during child witness testimony, for example, abuse. Researchers suggest that there are two major types of barriers in forensic interviews: improper interviewing and clumsy interviewing

Improper interviewing includes forensic techniques that are considered to be "risky and ineffective". Each of the following techniques can create critically negative consequences in witness testimony and potentially result in "false allegations and reduced likelihood of conviction" :
 * 1) Use of reinforcement: For example, if an interviewer utilizes rewards and punishments to coerce disclosure
 * 2) Social influence: If an interviewer informs a child of another child's disclosure or recollection
 * 3) Asking suggestive or leading questions: This can occur when an interviewer provides a child with information that is new
 * 4) Removing the child from direct experience: For example, asking a child "what might have happened"

Clumsy interviewing involves interviews that fail to include best practices and recommended techniques. Interviewers who are not properly trained in forensic techniques can fail to follow structured interview guidelines and significantly impact the outcome of a child's witness testimony. Clumsy interviewing can most often occur when an interviewer lacks skill, forgets important procedures and even during a lack of appropriate and necessary supervision.

In order to prevent improper forensic interviewing, researchers suggest numerous methods to reduce suggestibility and misinformation effects, such as taping interviews, recording transcripts, ensuring supervision by a qualified professional, experience in working with children, training in forensic interviewing, specifically how to accurately ask questions, and maintaining a comfortable, open environment.

Types of Interviewing
The Cognitive Interview utilizes cognitive theory as a focal point to develop interview methodology. The cognitive interview, first developed in 1992 by researchers Fisher and Geiselman, was originally developed for adults and later modified for children. It utilizes two major perspectives from cognitive theory, including the "encoding specificity principle", and a "multi-component view of memory traces".

Specifically, this method utilizes four major techniques :
 * 1) Report everything: i.e.)"tell me everything you remember"
 * 2) Context reinstatement: i.e.)"think back to where you were at the time"
 * 3) Reverse order: i.e.)"now that you told me what happened, try to remember it again but this time starting at the end and recounting it in reverse chronological order"
 * 4) Change perspective: i.e.)"what would the perpetrator have seen and heard?"

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Protocol developed an investigative protocol in 2000 to create a structured interview technique for children, specifically those of child sexual abuse.

It utilizes the following techniques :
 * 1) Introductory phase: This is necessary for rapport building
 * 2) Practice in free-recall: for example, "tell me about your last birthday party"
 * 3) Information about the ground rules: for example, "It's okay to say "I don't know""
 * 4) Open ended questions: "Tell me why you came to talk to me"

Stepwise Interview utilizes open ended questions through a "funnel-like strategy". It is primarily used for legal purposes, and is quite often used in Canada. This interview begins with open-ended questions and/or free recall and slowly incorporates more focused questions.

Allegation Blind Interviews stress that an interviewer should refrain from gathering information prior to an interview in order to reduce suggestibility, leading questions and increase interviewer patience and attentiveness. This also enhances the interviewers ability to be non-judgmental and objective.

Truth-lie Discussions are most useful prior to commencing abuse-related questioning, as it allows the interviewer to create a baseline with the child about what is "truth" and what is a "lie". The interviewer is encouraged to ask questions with specific, but general examples, such as "Tell me a lie about this chair". This strategy has been proven to result in less misinformed child testimony.

Touch Survey was developed on the basis that "touch falls on a continuum", and is beneficial to screen for child abuse. It includes questions surrounding the child's experiences with touch, such as, kissing, hugging, hitting, etc., including where they have been touched and by who. Researchers suggest that this tool might be more useful when used in conjunction with other forensic strategies.

Recommendations for Forensic Interviewing
Although there are varying suggestions for structured forensic interviewing, researchers provide context into best practices that can significantly reduce suggestibility, false memories and the misinformation effect:
 * 1) Interviews should be conducted in a safe, child-friendly environment
 * 2) A child's age should be considered when being interviewed, and practices should be modified accordingly
 * 3) Structured interview protocol should always be utilized
 * 4) Interviewers should engage in professional training when possible
 * 5) Ground rules are essential for the beginning of the interview so that the child is aware of the type of responses they can provide