Abstract: | Correspondence to Helen L. Westcott, Public Policy Department, NSPCC, 67 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RS. Summary Interviewing techniques embodied in the Cognitive Interview(CI) are introduced with a view to assessing their potentialfor interviews conducted with child abuse victims. The techniquesare summarized and literature pertaining to their developmentpresented. Two studies examining use of the CI with child witnessesare discussed, before the general applicability of the CI forsocial work interviews with abused children is assessed. Itis concluded that the CI does offer possibilities, but thatfurther research into the CI which is more specifically designedwithin the social work context is-needed. |