MemoryNCT00343018
Interviewing Children About Past Events: Evaluating the NICHD Interview Protocol
An observational study of Memory, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study, conducted by the NICHD in collaboration with Lancaster University in Lancaster, England, will evaluate the accuracy of information obtained from children using AN ADAPTED VERSION OF NICHD's interview protocol. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 5 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Memory
- How many people
- 150 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 21 Jan 2004to 5 Oct 2006
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 5 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Children between the ages of 5-6.
- All children within the nominated age range attending the participating schools, whose parents have given consent, will be included in the study.
- If children are identified as having specific disabilities that may affect their abiity to give a report about their experience (e.g., a developmental delay), or if English is a second language and inadequate mastery at the time of interview affects the child's reports, they will be included in the event and interviewed, but their data will be excluded from later analysis.
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Bethesda, Maryland, 20892
About this study
Official title: Evaluating the NICHD Interview Protocol in an Analog Study
This study, conducted by the NICHD in collaboration with Lancaster University in Lancaster, England, will evaluate the accuracy of information obtained from children using AN ADAPTED VERSION OF NICHD's interview protocol. The NICHD protocol was developed to help forensic interviewers OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM children who may be victims of or witnesses to a crime ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. This study does not involve forensic interviews, but is DESIGNED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM children ABOUT an event that takes place at their school. The study will examine how children report a brief interaction with an unfamiliar adult, how the memory of the event changes over time, and how the use of different interview techniques can help children give a fuller and more accurate accounts of past experiences.
Children 5 and 6 years of age who attend local schools in the Lancaster, England, area may be eligible for this study. Participants will be told that they are going to have their pictures taken and will be escorted by a researcher to a room at the school with another researcher who is posing as a photographer. The "photographer" and the child will put on a costume, such as a pirate's outfit, over their street clothes, helping each other put on pieces of the costume. The photographer will take pictures of the child in the costume. They will each take off the costumes and the child will be told that he or she will receive the photographs at a later time. Another researcher posing as a photographer will come into the room, interrupting the event, and begin to argue with the first photographer about who had booked the equipment. They will resolve the argument and apologize to the child for the interruption.
Read more
About 6 weeks after the event, the children will be interviewed using the ADAPTED VERSION OF NICHD interview protocol. Half will be interviewed first about the staged event (the photo session), followed by an interview about a fictitious event (e.g., a class visit to the fire station) that could plausibly have happened but did not. The other half of the children will be interviewed first about the fictitious event and then about the staged event. The children will be interviewed according to one of the following three procedures:
- The NICHD protocol preceded by a rapport-building phase that includes the rules of the interview and open-ended questions about the child and a recently experienced event
- The NICHD protocol preceded by a rapport-building phase that includes the rules of the interview and direct questions about the child and a recently experienced event, or
- The NICHD protocol preceded by the rules of the interview and open-ended questions about the child, but no opportunity to practice talking about a recently experienced event.
After the interviewer has elicited as much information as is likely to be gained from verbal questions, he or she will present the child with a line drawing of a gender neutral person and ask the child to indicate where the child was touched by the photographer and where the child touched the photographer. Any child who provides a report of the fictitious event will be interviewed in the same way about the fictitious event. After 1 year, the children will be interviewed again in the same manner as the 6-week interview.
The interviews will be audio- and videotaped to record the kind of information the children talk about and compare it to what actually happened in the event.
Read the detailed description
The NICHD interview protocol was designed to aid forensic interviewers in adhering to best standards of practice when interviewing children. Field studies evaluating its use have demonstrated improvements in both interviewer behavior, and the amount and quality of information obtained from children, compared to interviews conducted prior to its implementation in test sites. Because field studies were conducted in forensic settings, however, it has not been possible to evaluate the protocol's effect on the accuracy of information reported by children. This present study therefore aims to evaluate the accuracy of information obtained using the NICHD interview protocol in an analog study. In addition the study is designed to explore children's willingness to provide details of a suggested, non-experienced event, and the effectiveness of including a human figure drawing as an auxiliary technique for eliciting further information. Furthermore, we will explore the importance of the pre-substantive/rapport-building phase of interviews, and the impact this has on children's reports of experienced and suggested events. Finally, we will explore the effectiveness of the interview protocol with children when a long delay has occurred between the event and the interview.
Children will take part, individually, in a staged event at their school, and approximately six weeks later, be interviewed at the university about what they experienced. In addition, children will be asked to talk about a suggested fictitious event (one that has not happened). The order of the interviews will be counter-balanced across children and rapport-building conditions. Some children will be interviewed with an open-ended script that includes practice in episodic memory, some with a script made up of direct questions, including a practice in episodic memory, and some with one that uses open-ended questions but does not provide practice in talking about an event from episodic memory. Approximately one year later children will be interviewed again, so that we can examine children's reports in protocol interviews over a long delay. Children's reports will be analyzed for both overall amount and accuracy of information reported, as well as in response to the different cues and props given in the course of the interview. It is not anticipated that the study will pose any risks to the children involved, and we expect that both the staged event and the interviews will be enjoyable and stimulating. We expect that the results of the study will provide further support for the use of NICHD interview as a safe and effective means of interviewing children about past experiences. In addition to general information on children's eyewitness capabilities, the study is expected to supplement field studies by contributing knowledge about the accuracy of children's memory using the NICHD interview protocol.
- Conditions
- Memory
- Keywords
- Preschoolers, Young Children, Eyewitness, Memory
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Jun 2006 (estimated)
- Study start21 Jan 2004
- Study completion5 Oct 2006
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for MemoryStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Enrolment
- 150 participants
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00343018
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 999904108
- Other IDs
- 04-CH-N108
- Status last verified
- 5 Oct 2006
- First submitted
- 19 Jun 2006
- Last updated
- 2 Jul 2017
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Ceci SJ, Bruck M. Suggestibility of the child witness: a historical review and synthesis. Psychol Bull. 1993 May;113(3):403-39. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.403.
PubMed 8316609
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Jul 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the NICHD Interview Protocol in an Analog Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00343018
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 999904108
- Conditions
- Memory
- Keywords
- Preschoolers, Young Children, Eyewitness, Memory
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 150 participants
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- 21 Jan 2004
- Study completion
- 5 Oct 2006
- First posted
- 21 Jun 2006 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study, conducted by the NICHD in collaboration with Lancaster University in Lancaster, England, will evaluate the accuracy of information obtained from children using AN ADAPTED VERSION OF NICHD's interview protocol. The NICHD protocol was developed to help forensic interviewers OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM children who may be victims of or witnesses to a crime ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. This study does not involve forensic interviews, but is DESIGNED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM children ABOUT an event that takes place at their school. The study will examine how children report a brief interaction with an unfamiliar adult, how the memory of the event changes over time, and how the use of different interview techniques can help children give a fuller and more accurate accounts of past experiences.
Children 5 and 6 years of age who attend local schools in the Lancaster, England, area may be eligible for this study. Participants will be told that they are going to have their pictures taken and will be escorted by a researcher to a room at the school with another researcher who is posing as a photographer. The "photographer" and the child will put on a costume, such as a pirate's outfit, over their street clothes, helping each other put on pieces of the costume. The photographer will take pictures of the child in the costume. They will each take off the costumes and the child will be told that he or she will receive the photographs at a later time. Another researcher posing as a photographer will come into the room, interrupting the event, and begin to argue with the first photographer about who had booked the equipment. They will resolve the argument and apologize to the child for the interruption.
About 6 weeks after the event, the children will be interviewed using the ADAPTED VERSION OF NICHD interview protocol. Half will be interviewed first about the staged event (the photo session), followed by an interview about a fictitious event (e.g., a class visit to the fire station) that could plausibly have happened but did not. The other half of the children will be interviewed first about the fictitious event and then about the staged event. The children will be interviewed according to one of the following three procedures:
- The NICHD protocol preceded by a rapport-building phase that includes the rules of the interview and open-ended questions about the child and a recently experienced event
- The NICHD protocol preceded by a rapport-building phase that includes the rules of the interview and direct questions about the child and a recently experienced event, or
- The NICHD protocol preceded by the rules of the interview and open-ended questions about the child, but no opportunity to practice talking about a recently experienced event.
After the interviewer has elicited as much information as is likely to be gained from verbal questions, he or she will present the child with a line drawing of a gender neutral person and ask the child to indicate where the child was touched by the photographer and where the child touched the photographer. Any child who provides a report of the fictitious event will be interviewed in the same way about the fictitious event. After 1 year, the children will be interviewed again in the same manner as the 6-week interview.
The interviews will be audio- and videotaped to record the kind of information the children talk about and compare it to what actually happened in the event.
Detailed description
The NICHD interview protocol was designed to aid forensic interviewers in adhering to best standards of practice when interviewing children. Field studies evaluating its use have demonstrated improvements in both interviewer behavior, and the amount and quality of information obtained from children, compared to interviews conducted prior to its implementation in test sites. Because field studies were conducted in forensic settings, however, it has not been possible to evaluate the protocol's effect on the accuracy of information reported by children. This present study therefore aims to evaluate the accuracy of information obtained using the NICHD interview protocol in an analog study. In addition the study is designed to explore children's willingness to provide details of a suggested, non-experienced event, and the effectiveness of including a human figure drawing as an auxiliary technique for eliciting further information. Furthermore, we will explore the importance of the pre-substantive/rapport-building phase of interviews, and the impact this has on children's reports of experienced and suggested events. Finally, we will explore the effectiveness of the interview protocol with children when a long delay has occurred between the event and the interview.
Children will take part, individually, in a staged event at their school, and approximately six weeks later, be interviewed at the university about what they experienced. In addition, children will be asked to talk about a suggested fictitious event (one that has not happened). The order of the interviews will be counter-balanced across children and rapport-building conditions. Some children will be interviewed with an open-ended script that includes practice in episodic memory, some with a script made up of direct questions, including a practice in episodic memory, and some with one that uses open-ended questions but does not provide practice in talking about an event from episodic memory. Approximately one year later children will be interviewed again, so that we can examine children's reports in protocol interviews over a long delay. Children's reports will be analyzed for both overall amount and accuracy of information reported, as well as in response to the different cues and props given in the course of the interview. It is not anticipated that the study will pose any risks to the children involved, and we expect that both the staged event and the interviews will be enjoyable and stimulating. We expect that the results of the study will provide further support for the use of NICHD interview as a safe and effective means of interviewing children about past experiences. In addition to general information on children's eyewitness capabilities, the study is expected to supplement field studies by contributing knowledge about the accuracy of children's memory using the NICHD interview protocol.
Study design
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 5 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Children between the ages of 5-6.
- All children within the nominated age range attending the participating schools, whose parents have given consent, will be included in the study.
- If children are identified as having specific disabilities that may affect their abiity to give a report about their experience (e.g., a developmental delay), or if English is a second language and inadequate mastery at the time of interview affects the child's reports, they will be included in the event and interviewed, but their data will be excluded from later analysis.
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Not reported in the source record.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Jul 2017.
- Background: PubMed 8316609Ceci SJ, Bruck M. Suggestibility of the child witness: a historical review and synthesis. Psychol Bull. 1993 May;113(3):403-39. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.113.3.403.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Memory, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jul 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00343018, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jul 2017.