The forensic and clinical relevance of evidence-based investigative interview methods in historical sexual abuse cases

Decades-old child sexual abuse cases stress the need to examine the accuracy of long-term memory regarding traumatic events. The article by Goldfarb, Goodman, Larson, Eisen, and Qin (published in the March 2019 issue of Clinical Psychological Science) showed that memories of genital contact occurring decades ago were highly accurate. We argue that their findings emphasize the use of investigative interviewing in past abuse cases. Such cognitive interviewing (CI) is known to increase the completeness of memory reports. We also contend that the CI may reduce a victim's anxiety at the time of the interview. Therefore, besides a well-proven legal relevance, investigative interviewing could also have clinical value.