Interview structure
There are six phases to the SCIM joint interview:
1. Introduction
The child and interviewers will introduce themselves for the recording and give explanations about roles, the recording equipment and interview environment. The child will be asked how they will let the interviewers know if they need a break and they will also be given an opportunity to ask any questions they have.
2. Rapport building and narrative training
Interviewers take time to get to know the child better and ask them about their hobbies and interests. The child will be asked to give more details about a fun and also not so fun event that has happened recently.
It is hoped that this will allow the child or young person to feel more comfortable and relaxed speaking with the interviewers in what can be an unfamiliar style of communication with adults or people in authority. It also helps them to practise remembering, provide more descriptive responses and report the kind of information and with the level of detail interviewers require.
3. Ground rules
Interviewers explain five instructions that the child or young person should follow during the interview. These include correcting the interviewer if they have said something incorrect, asking if they do not understand a question and telling the interviewer if they do not know the answer to a question. Again this can be an unfamiliar style of communication for a child but one that is very important in order to gain the child’s own account of events.
4. Further rapport building and episodic memory training
The child will be asked to speak about a neutral event that they have enjoyed recently and will be asked further questions about it. This again helps the child practice remembering details of events and become familiar with recalling information that is defined by specific dates/times/events.
5. Substantive phase
This phase of the interview is the where the interviewer gives the child the opportunity to report as much information about the suspected event or concern as possible.
6. Ending the interview
This phase of the interview ensures the child has nothing else to report and gives them another opportunity to ask any questions or share any concerns they have.