Objective: To show how the results of research on children's memory, communicative skills, social knowledge, and social tendencies can be translated into guidelines that improve the quality of forensic interviews of children. Method: We review studies designed to evaluate children's capacities as witnesses, explain the development of the…

Interviewed 145 children between ages 4 and 12 years within days or months after an alleged incident of sexual abuse. Found that the proportion of substantive investigative utterances eliciting new details increased with age and decreased after delays of more than 1 month. Age related to length and richness of informative responses. (Author/KB)

Describes the factors that influence children's competence when they are being interviewed about sexual abuse and discusses ways in which investigative interviewers can maximize the quality and quantity of information they obtain from alleged witnesses and victims. Strategies for developing rapport and eliciting factual information are described.…