Discovering physical abuse: insights from a follow-up study of delinquents.

In a follow-up study of incarcerated Connecticut youth, 66 subjects participated in extensive personal interviews. This paper documents discrepancies between early data regarding abuse and retrospective self-reports of abuse given at the time of follow-up. It describes the development of an interview protocol in which inquiries regarding medical history, the general temperament of caretakers and their behaviors when intoxicated, and instruments and methods of punishment used in the home enabled subjects to describe abusive experiences not disclosed in response to direct questions about maltreatment. The paper also discusses the use of explicitly worded probes to flesh out a clear picture of subjects' experiences. The conflicts that underlie denial or minimization of abuse are discussed, along with interviewing strategies for overcoming them.