The Utility of the Birthday Prompt in Narrative Practice with Maltreated and Non-maltreated 4- to 9-year-old Children

31 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2021

See all articles by Hayden Henderson

Hayden Henderson

USC Gould School of Law

Hailey Konovalov

USC Gould School of Law, Students

Shanna Williams

University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Thomas D. Lyon

University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Date Written: August 2, 2021

Abstract

Forensic interviewers are encouraged to elicit a practice narrative from children in order to train them to answer free recall questions with narrative information. Although asking children about their last birthday has been recommended, concerns have been raised that many children will have nothing to report. This study asked 994 4- to 9-year-old maltreated and non-maltreated children to recall their last birthday. Although a fair number of children initially failed to recall information (9%), virtually all children recalled information with persistent encouragement (99%). Younger children and maltreated children were less responsive and spoke less, but nevertheless, 93% of the youngest children (4-year-olds) and 97% of maltreated children recalled information with persistent encouragement. The results suggest that children’s failures to recall information about birthdays are predominantly attributable to a failure to provide additional support.

Suggested Citation

Henderson, Hayden and Konovalov, Hailey and Williams, Shanna and Lyon, Thomas D., The Utility of the Birthday Prompt in Narrative Practice with Maltreated and Non-maltreated 4- to 9-year-old Children (August 2, 2021). Forthcoming, Applied Developmental Science, USC CLASS Research Paper No. CLASS21-34, USC Law Legal Studies Paper No. 21-34, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3897988

Hayden Henderson (Contact Author)

USC Gould School of Law ( email )

Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States

Hailey Konovalov

USC Gould School of Law, Students ( email )

Los Angeles, CA
United States

Shanna Williams

University of Southern California Gould School of Law ( email )

Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States

Thomas D. Lyon

University of Southern California Gould School of Law ( email )

699 Exposition Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90089
United States
213-740-0142 (Phone)
213-740-5502 (Fax)

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