The rapport building phase of child investigative interviewing is referred to in practice guidelines as an essential. Nevertheless, in contrast with other aspects of the interview it has been subject to little empirical examination. There is a lack of information on the rapport phase’s impact on children’s communication and whether this changes across a variety of different circumstances. Finally, few researchers have empirically assessed different styles of rapport building. This thesis investigates the communicative influence of the rapport building phase in child investigative interviews. It also examines the effectiveness of a new collaborative play approach to rapport building with respect to its influence on children’s communication and the rapport levels between the interviewer and child. The investigation began by interviewing practitioners about their perceptions and experiences of rapport building practice, and their opinions on the use of play during the rapport phase. A grounded theory approach to analysis found that interviewers perceive the rapport phase as a tool for facilitating communication with children during the investigative interview. This is achieved in three main ways: (1) assessing the child during the rapport phase, (2) adjusting interview approach based on the child’s presentation during the rapport phase, and (3) producing a psychological outcome in the child that then facilitates communication. The resultant theory and the comments made about play rapport were used in subsequent experimental chapters to design and implement play rapport, and to interpret the empirical findings. The second line of enquiry investigated the communicative impact of a collaborative play approach to rapport building in adult-child interactions. Children across three different age groups (6-7, 8-10 & 12-14 year olds) were more communicative and demonstrated greater rapport with an adult after play rapport than children in a control condition. The findings indicate that a collaborative play format of rapport building is an effective communication facilitator. The third empirical study tested play rapport’s efficacy in a mock investigative interview situation. It was compared with the current open style of rapport building used by practitioners in the UK, and a control condition that involved no rapport phase. Older children (8-10 year olds) who experienced play rapport demonstrated information benefits in comparison with children in the control condition. No differences were found between the open style and the control, and the open style and play rapport for information detail or accuracy. Children (5-7 and 8-10 year olds) were however, more resistance to interviewer suggestion after engaging in a play rapport phase in comparison with children who experienced the open style of rapport building. These results indicate the potential of play rapport as a communication facilitator for children in investigative interview settings. The final empirical chapter examined anxiety data taken from the children during the third study. This was to address the hypothesis that improvements in recall as a result of the rapport phase, and in particular play rapport, were due to a reduction in the children’s anxiety levels. The data showed no differences across the rapport protocols in terms of anxiety for any of the measures. The information benefits found could therefore not be explained with respect to a reduction in anxiety. Alternative theories were then proposed, and future research outlined that could further investigate the psychological underpinnings of the communicative effects of the rapport phase, and the collaborative play rapport approach.

This thesis explores how the Swedish legal system, specifically the police and district courts, understand and construct cases of human trafficking for sexual purposes and procuring with under-age victims. It draws on police investigative interviews and court decisions in 22 pronounced district court sentences, involving 36 female youths. Theoretically the thesis primarily builds on social constructionism and the sociology of childhood. Methodologically it builds on coding of forensic interviews, narrative analysis and discourse analysis. Study I explores the informativeness of 24 of the 36 adolescents when interviewed by the police. It shows that the adolescents were informative yet evasive, specifically when asked open questions. Experiences of violence and force as well as interviews conducted soon after the police intervention further contributed to evasiveness. Also evasiveness seemed intimately connected to circumstances in each unique case. Study II scrutinises the image of the ideal trafficking victim by asking how the issue of responsibility is handled when police interviews turn to prostitution. It also analyses which interactive and narrative conditions, related to agency and stake, apply for talk in this specific institutional setting. The findings suggest that in order to sort out the ‘real’ victims, the interrogator needs to pull apart the two categories ‘victim’ and ‘prostitute’ even if there may be problems with this clear-cut distinction since the categories tend to blend together. Further, in this institutional setting to talk about sex can be problematic as it may undermine the victim narrative instead creating a subject with interests. Study III explores how Swedish district courts assess the credibility of alleged victims of human trafficking for sexual purposes and the reliability of their testimonies. The findings indicate that the judges base their assessments on the Swedish Supreme Courts’ criteria of how to understand reliability and credibility but they seemed also to be influenced by extra-legal factors relating to victims’ behaviour. Further, the findings imply that the judges used the Supreme Court’s criteria to argue both for and against credibility. By so doing, their arguments supported the decision reached irrespective of how the adolescents reported or what impression they made. In brief this thesis can be said to point to a legal dilemma when law on paper is applied in practice as each unique adolescent must be recognized by the authorities as fitting the administrative category ‘victim’. When put into practice, categories are rarely neat and clear hence such categorizing becomes a phenomenon negotiated in interaction. Also, this legal context sets up limits and possibilities for the adolescents’ agency and this too can be said to have a bearing on if she is, or is not, constructed as a victim. In short, this thesis shows certain conditions of victimhood. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted.</p><p>Forskningsfinansiär: Brottsoffermyndigheten genom Brottsofferfonden.</p> / Människohandel/koppleri med barn och unga för sexuella ändamål Vad går att lära av rättsväsendet och brottsoffrens erfarenheter?

Depuis les années 1990, de nombreuses recherches ont porté sur le dévoilement de l’agression sexuelle chez l’enfant et sur les caractéristiques y étant associées. Outre les facteurs liés à l’enfant et au contexte, le type de questions utilisé par l’intervieweur (notamment les invitations et les questions ouvertes) est une variable déterminante pour le dévoilement de l’enfant et la quantité de détails qui sera fournie entourant l’agression sexuelle. Bien que plusieurs enquêteurs reçoivent une formation sur l’utilisation des questions ouvertes dans les entrevues avec les enfants, peu d’entre eux utilisent un style de question approprié une fois sur le terrain. L’objectif de cette recherche vise à déterminer si certaines caractéristiques personnelles des enquêteurs sont associées à leur adhésion à un protocole d’entrevue structuré pour lequel ils ont été formés, à l’utilisation de questions ouvertes dans des entrevues d’enquête auprès d’enfants soupçonnés d’avoir vécu une agression sexuelle et à la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant lors de ces entrevues. Deux études ont été menées pour répondre à cette question. La première étude a été effectuée à l'École nationale de police du Québec auprès de 24 enquêteurs de police ayant suivi une formation d'une semaine visant l’apprentissage du protocole d’entrevue structuré du National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Le genre féminin, les habiletés cognitives et le trait de personnalité Ouverture à l’expérience sont trois caractéristiques personnelles qui ont été reliées positivement à la performance des enquêteurs lors d’une entrevue simulée avec un comédien jouant le rôle d’un enfant victime d’agression sexuelle, tandis que le nombre d’années d’expérience et la capacité de gestion du stress de ces enquêteurs ont montré une relation négative avec cette performance. Dans la seconde étude effectuée sur le terrain auprès de 13 enquêteurs du Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, 114 entrevues conduites auprès d’enfants ayant dévoilé une agression sexuelle ont été recueillies et cotées pour mesurer l’adhésion au protocole d’entrevue du NICHD, le ratio de questions ouvertes et la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant par question posée par l’enquêteur. L’intelligence émotionnelle et les traits de personnalité Extraversion, Esprit consciencieux et Agréabilité ont été trouvés comme des caractéristiques personnelles positivement associées à l’adhésion au protocole d’entrevue et à l’utilisation de questions ouvertes, tandis que le nombre d’années d’expérience et le trait de personnalité Névrosisme ont été négativement associés à ces deux critères de performance. Le niveau d’habiletés cognitives des enquêteurs a quant à lui montré une association positive avec la quantité de détails dévoilés par l’enfant. La signification et l’interprétation de ces résultats, de même que les implications potentielles pour la sélection et la formation des enquêteurs sont finalement discutées. / Since the 1990’s, disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) has been studied extensively. In addition to characteristics related to the child and the context of the CSA, the types of questions used by investigative interviewers (ex. invitations and open-ended questions) are another critical component for the child’s disclosure and the amount of details provided by the child related to the incident. Despite their participation in training programs, few investigative interviewers use open-ended questions once in the field. This research project aims to determine whether certain personal characteristics are related to investigators’ adherence to a structured interview protocol, their use of open-ended questions in an investigative interview with a child victim of sexual abuse and the amount of details obtained from the child during this interview. Two studies were conducted to attempt to answer this question. The first study was conducted at the École nationale de police du Québec with 24 French Canadian police investigators after following a one-week training program aimed at using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) interview protocol. These investigators performed a mock interview at the end of their training to test their practical competence. Interview performance was positively related to cognitive abilities, female gender, and the personality trait Openness to Experience and negatively to stress management and investigator’s experience. The second study was conducted with 13 police investigators from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal. A total of 114 real investigative interviews conducted with child victims of sexual abuse were collected and scored. Results showed that emotional intelligence, and the personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were positively related to adherence to the NICHD interview protocol and the ratio of open-ended questions. The number of years of experience and personality trait Neuroticism were negatively related with these two performance criteria. Cognitive abilities were related to the amount of details obtained from the child per question. The interpretations of these results and their implications for the selection and training of investigative interviewers are discussed.

<p>The aim of the study was to examine how child investigators in the police force interpret and apply the notification of preliminary investigation (FuK) and the po-lice act in their child investigative interviews with alleged victims of sexual abuse. Questions at issue were how child investigators relate to FuK 17-19 §§, re-garding child investigative interviews and to FuK 16 § and the police act 3 §, re-garding their co-operation with social services. The theory and method used in this study was Sociology of Law. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight child investigators, one from each police district in Stockholm. The results of the study conclude that despite special qualifications, child investigators may find themselves in difficulty in receiving or interpreting information from chil-dren, therefore they may need to consult a person with expert knowledge. Fur-thermore the results conclude that all of the child investigators with no exception inform the social services when a report to the police is received. Moreover, the results show that child investigators in general are aware of the legislation and re-late in compliance with it. In conclusion, children are given special treatment in relation to adults, in order to place children on equality with them.</p>

The aim of the study was to examine how child investigators in the police force interpret and apply the notification of preliminary investigation (FuK) and the po-lice act in their child investigative interviews with alleged victims of sexual abuse. Questions at issue were how child investigators relate to FuK 17-19 §§, re-garding child investigative interviews and to FuK 16 § and the police act 3 §, re-garding their co-operation with social services. The theory and method used in this study was Sociology of Law. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight child investigators, one from each police district in Stockholm. The results of the study conclude that despite special qualifications, child investigators may find themselves in difficulty in receiving or interpreting information from chil-dren, therefore they may need to consult a person with expert knowledge. Fur-thermore the results conclude that all of the child investigators with no exception inform the social services when a report to the police is received. Moreover, the results show that child investigators in general are aware of the legislation and re-late in compliance with it. In conclusion, children are given special treatment in relation to adults, in order to place children on equality with them.

Thèse de doctorat présenté en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche intervention, option psychologie clinique (Ph.D) / Depuis 25 ans, de nombreuses études ont permis de documenter les capacités des enfants de moins de 12 ans à rapporter les agressions sexuelles qu’ils ont subies dans un contexte d’entrevue d’enquête policière conduites. Cependant, les adolescents représentent une grande proportion des victimes potentielles. Notre compréhension des enjeux en lien avec les entrevues d’enquête réalisées auprès des adolescents est limitée, alors qu’il est bien établi dans la documentation scientifique qu’ils se distinguent des enfants sur le plan développemental. Ainsi, l’objectif de cette thèse est d’examiner les différences quant au déroulement des entrevues d’enquête entre les enfants et les adolescents victimes d’agression sexuelle. Le premier article vise à comparer les entrevues d’enquête quant aux types de questions utilisées par les enquêteurs, aux types de réponses fournies par les victimes et aux liens entre ces deux éléments dans le but d’examiner la dynamique de l’entrevue en fonction du groupe d’âge. Vingt-deux transcriptions d’entrevues d’enfants âgés de 7 à 10 ans ont été codifiées et comparées à vingt-deux transcriptions d’entrevues d’adolescents âgés de 13 à 16 ans. Les résultats révèlent des structures d’échange différentes entre les enquêteurs et les victimes d’agression sexuelle selon l’âge. En effet, il est observé que les enquêteurs utilisent plus fréquemment des questions suggestives avec les adolescents, et ce, même à la suite de réponses qui fournissent des détails sur l’événement d’agression sexuelle de la part des victimes. Cette dynamique dans les interactions est susceptible de nuire à la qualité de l’entrevue étant donné les risques associés à l’utilisation de questions suggestives pour interroger les victimes (p. ex., contradiction dans le discours, détails erronés). Le deuxième article vise également à comparer les types de questions utilisées par les enquêteurs et les réponses des victimes en fonction de l’âge, mais en considérant la spécificité des réponses des mineurs (qualité des réponses) et les diverses catégories d’informations relatives à l’infraction (actions et parties du corps, contexte de l’agression sexuelle, autres victimes potentielles et témoins, référents internes). La méthodologie est la même que celle utilisée dans l’article 1. Les résultats suggèrent une utilisation plus fréquente des questions suggestives par les enquêteurs avec les adolescents en ce qui concerne les informations liées au contexte de l’agression sexuelle, alors qu’ils énoncent plus souvent des invitations auprès des enfants lorsque les informations se rapportent aux référents internes (émotions et interprétations). Pour ce qui est de la qualité des réponses, les adolescents fournissent une plus grande proportion de réponses élaborées en lien avec les informations portant sur le contexte de l’agression sexuelle, sur les autres victimes potentielles et les témoins ainsi que sur les référents internes. Les contributions de cette thèse seront discutées compte tenu des résultats observés dans les deux articles. En effet, il semble que les enquêteurs utilisent une grande proportion de questions suggestives auprès des adolescents, mais aussi de façon générale lors des entrevues avec les mineurs. De plus, les adolescents victimes ont de meilleures capacités pour rapporter des informations plus détaillées relatives à l’infraction (contexte de l’agression sexuelle, autres victimes potentielles et témoins, référents internes). Par ailleurs, en ce qui a trait aux implications, il est important que les enquêteurs aient accès à des formations et des suivis post-formation afin de mieux connaître les enjeux développementaux des adolescents et dans le but d’adopter des pratiques optimales lors des entrevues, notamment une utilisation plus fréquente des invitations. Actuellement, des protocoles d’entrevue non suggestive pour interroger les enfants, de même que les adultes, sont existants afin de guider les policiers dans la conduite de leurs entrevues. Cependant, le développement ou l’adaptation d’un protocole pour la conduite des entrevues spécifiquement auprès des adolescents victimes d’agression sexuelle s’avère pertinent. Finalement, concernant les avenues de recherches futures, il demeure essentiel de mieux comprendre le contexte d’utilisation des questions suggestives, ainsi que le vécu des adolescents et des policiers lors des entrevues d’enquête. / Over the past 25 years, most studies have documented children’s abilities to report sexual abuse under the age of 12 years old in a police investigative interview setting. However, adolescents represent a large proportion of potential sexual abuse victims. Our understanding of the challenges related to investigative interviewing conducted with adolescents is limited. This proves to be the case even when it is clearly stated in literature that adolescents are developmentally distinct from children. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to compare investigative interviews conducted with children and adolescents victims of sexual abuse. The first article compares the investigative interviews between children and adolescents victims of sexual abuse in accordance with the types of questions used by the investigators, the types of responses given by the victims, and the relationship between the two elements in order to examine the dynamics of the interview. Twenty-two interview transcripts of children aged 7-10 years of age were coded and compared to twenty-two interview transcripts of adolescents aged 13-16 years of age. The results revealed different interviewing process according to age. It has been observed that interviewers use suggestive questions more frequently with adolescents, even following responses from victims that provide details about the sexual abuse event. This dynamic in the interactions is likely to affect the quality of the interview given the risks associated with using suggestive questions to interview victims (e.g., contradiction in the narrative, incorrect details). The second article also aims to compare the types of questions used by investigators and victims' responses according to age, but considering the specificity of minors' responses (quality of responses) and different categories of offense-related information covered (actions and body parts, sexual abuse context, other potential victims and witnesses, internal referents). The methodology is the same as the one used in article 1. The results suggest a more frequent use of suggestive questions with adolescents regarding information related to the sexual abuse context, whereas they use more often invitations with children when the information relates to internal referents (emotions and interpretations). In terms of quality of the responses, adolescents provide a greater proportion of elaborated responses for the information related to sexual abuse context, other potential victims and witnesses, and internal referents. The contributions of this thesis will be discussed in light of the results observed in the two articles. Indeed, it appears that investigators use a large proportion of suggestive questions with adolescents, but also in general during interviews with minors. Moreover, adolescent victims report more detailed information regarding different types of offense-related information (context of the sexual abuse, other potential victims and witnesses, internal referents). Furthermore, from a practical point of view, it is important that investigators have access to training and post-training follow-ups in order to better understand the developmental issues of adolescents and to adopt optimal practices during interviews, notably a more frequent use of invitations. Currently, non-suggestive interview protocols for interviewing children and adults are available to guide police officers in conducting their interviews. Thus, the development or the adaptation of a protocol for conducting interviews with adolescent victims of sexual abuse is relevant. Finally, for future research, it remains essential to better understand the context in which suggestive questions are used, as well as the experiences of adolescents and police officers during investigative interviews.