Swedish interpreters' views and experiences of interpreting child forensic interviews.

BACKGROUND: Child forensic interviewers have expressed concerns regarding the quality of interpreter-mediated child forensic interviews. However, research on interpreters' perspectives on these interviews is scarce and specialized education for interpreters limited. OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study aimed to explore interpreters' experiences and knowledge of interpreting child forensic interviews. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A total of 130 Swedish interpreters with different authorization statuses responded to a digital survey about interpreting child forensic interviews. METHODS: Qualitative data were analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis and content analysis, and quantitative data with descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Interpreters reported challenges concerning children's limited language skills, the emotional effects of interpreting child forensic interviews, the limited access to information before interviews, and the complex balance between following interpreters' ethical guidelines and adjusting for situational demands. Regarding practical conditions, interpreters preferred interpreting in person instead of via telephone. Interpreters' general knowledge of child forensic interviewing did not differ between interpreters with different authorization statuses (F(2,108) = 0.80, ω2 = -0.002, p = .45), except from views on using leading questions (H(2) = 17.34, η2 = 0.14, p < .001) and whether interpreters may clarify terms to child interviewees (H(2) = 8.02, η2 = 0.06, p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: It is crucial to consider interpreters' perspectives when striving to improve the quality of interpreter-mediated child forensic interviews. Interpreters should be provided sufficient information to prepare and assess their suitability. Interpreters should also be offered education in interpreting child forensic interviews and given appropriate service structures to support their wellbeing.

Transfer of cetirizine/levocetirizine into human breast milk and estimation of drug exposure to infants through breastfeeding: A human lactation study from the ConcePTION project.

Data on drug transfer into human breast milk are sparse. This study aimed to quantify concentrations of cetirizine and levocetirizine in breast milk and to estimate drug exposure to infants. Breastfeeding women at least 8 weeks postpartum and using cetirizine or its pure (R)-enantiomer levocetirizine were eligible to participate. Breast milk samples were collected at six predefined times during a dose interval (0, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h after drug intake) at steady state. Infant drug exposure was estimated by calculating the absolute infant dose (AID) and the weight-adjusted relative infant dose (RID). In total, 32 women were eligible for final inclusion, 31 women using cetirizine and one woman using levocetirizine. Means of the individual maximum and average cetirizine milk concentrations were 41.0 and 16.8 µg/L, respectively. Maximum concentrations occurred on average 2.4 h after intake, and the mean half-life in milk was 7.0 h. Estimated AID and RID for cetirizine in a day were 2.5 µg/kg and 1.9%, respectively. The corresponding values for levocetirizine were 1.1 µg/kg and 1.9%. No severe adverse events were reported. Our findings demonstrate that the transfer of cetirizine and levocetirizine into breast milk is low and compatible with breastfeeding.

Swedish Courts' Evaluations of Interpreter-Mediated Child Investigative Interviews.

Children can need the help of an interpreter if they are victims of a crime and need to be forensically interviewed in another language. Recent findings from practitioners raise concerns about the state of interpreter-mediated interviews with children. The current study aimed to explore how Swedish criminal courts reason when assessing interpreter-mediated and interpreter-absent (with children who are not fluent in Swedish) child investigative interviews. We conducted qualitative and descriptive analyses of written court verdicts involving 108 child victims who were evaluated to need an interpreter during their investigative interview. The courts frequently discussed issues regarding possible misinterpretations, language difficulties, and confusion. These perceived deficiencies in the interviews were often mentioned as a cause for assessing the child's testimony with caution and, in some cases, as lowering the evidential value of the child interview. Possible implications for children's legal rights are discussed.

"It doesn't work at all, that's my experience": Swedish forensic interviewers' views on interpreter-mediated child interviews.

BACKGROUND: Legal practitioners have expressed concerns regarding the quality of interpreter-mediated forensic interviews with child witnesses. OBJECTIVE: This mixed-methods study aimed to examine Swedish forensic interviewers' experiences of conducting child interviews via a language interpreter. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Forty-one forensic interviewers from the Swedish Police Authority with experience conducting interpreter-mediated child interviews participated in a digital survey. METHODS: Their responses were analyzed using both qualitative (thematic and content analyses) and quantitative (descriptive and inferential statistics) approaches. RESULTS: The forensic interviewers' general experiences of conducting interpreter-mediated child interviews were negative. Limited access to authorized legal interpreters and doubts regarding the accuracy of interpretation were described as major obstacles in these investigations. The presence of an interpreter could negatively impact children's disclosure process and limit their chances of expressing their views during legal proceedings. CONCLUSIONS: According to Swedish forensic interviewers, the quality of interpreter-mediated child interviews urgently needs to be addressed. Our results are consistent with previous surveys from Australia and the United States, highlighting the international relevance of these topics. Future improvements are vital to ensure that all children are provided an equal right to be heard during criminal investigations, regardless of the native language.

Swedish and Norwegian Police Interviewers' Goals, Tactics, and Emotions When Interviewing Suspects of Child Sexual Abuse.

As the suspect interview is one of the key elements of a police investigation, it has received a great deal of merited attention from the scientific community. However, suspect interviews in child sexual abuse (CSA) investigations is an understudied research area. In the present mixed-methods study, we examine Swedish (n = 126) and Norwegian (n = 52) police interviewers' self-reported goals, tactics, and emotional experiences when conducting interviews with suspected CSA offenders. The quantitative analyses found associations between the interviewers' self-reported goals, tactics, and emotions during these types of suspect interviews. Interviewers who reported experiencing more negative emotions were more likely to employ confrontational tactics. Specifically, anger was positively associated with the goal of obtaining a confession and with aggressive tactics like raising one's voice and emphasizing the seriousness of the crime. Frustration and disgust displayed similar patterns. Somewhat contrasting these quantitative results, the thematic analysis identified a strong consensus that emotions should not and do not affect the police interviewers' work. Furthermore, the police interviewers described a range of strategies for managing emotions during the interview and for processing their emotional reactions afterwards. The present findings highlight the relevance of emotional processes in CSA suspect interviews and provide an initial exploration of the potentially complex relationship between the goals, tactics, and emotional experiences of police interviewers who question CSA suspects.

Can rapport building strategies, age, and question type influence preschoolers' disclosures of adult wrongdoing?

In the present experiment, we examined preschoolers' disclosures of a secret as a function of rapport building strategies used in Scandinavian field settings (verbal rapport building vs. prop rapport building), age in months (33-75 months) and question type (open-ended free recall invitation vs. suggestive questions). Fifty-three preschoolers (M = 60.5 months old, SD = 11.4) witnessed a researcher break a toy and were asked to keep the toy breakage a secret. The children were thereafter interviewed about the incident. Overall, 18.9% of the children disclosed the secret after an open-ended free recall invitation. The disclosure rate rose to 83% after the final phase of the interviews when questions containing suggestive details were asked of the children. Notably, we did not observe any significant effects as a function of manipulating rapport building strategy. A linear regression model showed that child age (in months) significantly predicted the amount of reported details, with younger preschoolers reporting fewer details compared to older preschoolers. Age also predicted the amount of correct details, but not the amount of incorrect details. No age differences were found with regard to children's disclosure tendencies or proportion of central details about the secret. Methodological limitations and practical implications will be addressed.

Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Preschool-Aged Children: A Study of Swedish Cases from 2010 to 2014.

Alleged child sexual abuse against preschool-aged children is often considered one of the most challenging cases for a prosecutor to handle. The aim of the current study was to examine differences between prosecuted and discontinued cases of alleged sexual abuse of preschool-aged children. Data from Swedish criminal cases of alleged sexual abuse of children ages 2-6 issued from 2010 to 2014 were analyzed (N = 130). Prosecuted cases were more likely to contain forensic evidence (documentation of abuse, corroborative DNA evidence, or a corroborative medical examination), or a confession from the suspect, while such evidence was not available in any discontinued case. Furthermore, cases where the child was older, where the prosecutor had decided to conduct an interview with the child, and where there was more than one alleged victim were more likely to be prosecuted. Factors that were associated with a decreased likelihood of prosecution were ongoing custody disputes between parents, foster care placements prior to the abuse, and if the report concerned a boy. Boys and younger children were also less likely to be interviewed. The results suggest that prosecution of sexual abuse cases involving preschool-aged children remains difficult and that there is room for improvements in these investigations.

Preschoolers' disclosures of child sexual abuse: Examining corroborated cases from Swedish courts.

Young victims of child sexual abuse can - for a range of developmental, motivational and contextual reasons - have difficulties disclosing their experiences. In the present study, corroborated court cases concerning 57 preschoolers' disclosures of sexual abuse were examined using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Together, the cases involved 53 girls and 4 boys between 2-6 years (M=4.2, SD=1.2) during the (first) incident of abuse. The children were between 3-7 years (M=5.3, SD=1.2) during their police interview. Analyses showed that many children could provide at least one central detail about the abuse to; i) informal disclosure recipients, and ii) during their police interview. However, the time up until their first disclosure was often delayed. A range of barriers for disclosing were observed in the court cases, and many young victims were assessed as reluctant during their police interview. Repeated sessions, direct questions, and other reassurances could at times facilitate the disclosure process. Other suggestions on actions and future research that may help young child abuse victims are discussed.

Tumor imaging using a picomolar affinity HER2 binding affibody molecule.

The detection of cell-bound proteins that are produced due to aberrant gene expression in malignant tumors can provide important diagnostic information influencing patient management. The use of small radiolabeled targeting proteins would enable high-contrast radionuclide imaging of cancers expressing such antigens if adequate binding affinity and specificity could be provided. Here, we describe a HER2-specific 6 kDa Affibody molecule (hereinafter denoted Affibody molecule) with 22 pmol/L affinity that can be used for the visualization of HER2 expression in tumors in vivo using gamma camera. A library for affinity maturation was constructed by re-randomization of relevant positions identified after the alignment of first-generation variants of nanomolar affinity (50 nmol/L). One selected Affibody molecule, Z(HER2:342) showed a >2,200-fold increase in affinity achieved through a single-library affinity maturation step. When radioiodinated, the affinity-matured Affibody molecule showed clear, high-contrast visualization of HER2-expressing xenografts in mice as early as 6 hours post-injection. The tumor uptake at 4 hours post-injection was improved 4-fold (due to increased affinity) with 9% of the injected dose per gram of tissue in the tumor. Affibody molecules represent a new class of affinity molecules that can provide small sized, high affinity cancer-specific ligands, which may be well suited for tumor imaging.