The effect of training on investigative interviewers’ attitudes and beliefs related to child sexual abuse

This study explored the effect of training on investigative interviewers’ attitudes and beliefs related to child sexual abuse (CSA). The one-year training provided knowledge about the influence of attitudes and beliefs when investigating alleged crimes against children, guidance for using an interview protocol developed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the theory behind its use and supervision and feedback for the participants. In total, 27 investigative interviewers took part in the training. Attitudes and beliefs related to CSA were measured with a questionnaire at the beginning and end of training and a year after the training was completed. It was found that the training decreased the total number of incorrect beliefs held by participants and that this positive effect was maintained a year after the training. Already at the beginning of the training few participants were found to hold biased attitudes towards CSA, such as strongly relying on intuition, and the results improved further by the end of the training. Nevertheless, the follow-up revealed that, after a year, participants tended to trust their intuitions more than at the end of the training. Implications of the study for training investigative interviewers will be discussed.