D. Romer et al., TALKING COMPUTERS - A RELIABLE AND PRIVATE METHOD TO CONDUCT INTERVIEWS ON SENSITIVE TOPICS WITH CHILDREN, The Journal of sex research, 34(1), 1997, pp. 3-9
To obtain valid results, interviews on sex-related topics not only req
uire confidentiality but also privacy. However, the typical solutions
to this problem, self-administered questionnaires or telephone intervi
ews, may not be appropriate for pre- and early adolescents who may req
uire face-to-face (FTF) interviews. In this research, we tested the hy
pothesis that interviews delivered by talking computers would elicit m
ore reports of sexual experience and positive feelings toward sex than
FTF interviews with children. To test the hypothesis, we compared the
results of both interview methods administered to separate samples of
300 and 96 Black children ages 9 to 15 living in public housing. The
results supported the hypothesis. In addition a subsample of the child
ren (n = 31) who had completed both interviews reported more favorable
feelings toward sex in the computer interview Computer interviews wer
e reliable and did not produce higher levels of missing responses than
FTF interviews. The results suggest that talking computers can be use
d with children across a wide age range to deliver a more private inte
rview than FTF interviewing permits.