Meta-Analysis of The NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol for Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Abstract

Forensic interviews are an essential part of the investigation of child sexual abuse cases. Following best practice, evidence based guidelines when conducting such interviews is essential in obtaining a credible and reliable testimony. The investigative interview protocol developed by National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) incorporates these guidelines into a structured interview protocol. An integral part of the NICHD protocol is to promote open ended, invitational interviewer prompts. The current research was conducted to observe the effectiveness of the NICHD Protocol in encouraging invitational prompts and discouraging suggestive prompts when compared to non-protocol interviews. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of the NICHD protocol was conducted, including 11 studies selected in line with the inclusion criteria. The analysis used a random effect model that computed separate weighted mean of the effect sizes shown in independent studies for prompts namely: Directives, Option posing, Suggestions, and Invitations. Results of the analysis indicated that overall, interviews with NICHD protocol had less directives, option posing and suggestive prompts, and more invitational prompts than non-protocol interviews. These results corroborate with the findings of previous studies. However, these findings should be considered with caution due to the detection of high levels of heterogeneity.