Interviewing and Building Rapport with Adolescents and Adults

The “How”: Communication Skills

Step 1: How to Ask Questions Open-ended: best choice for building rapport and gathering information  “What does it mean to you to be…?” Close-ended/structured choice: when you need to get a direct answer or give a direction  “Was that the first time someone had said that to you?”  “ Did you see that as a positive or negative experience?”

Step 2: Descriptive Statements Summarize: show you are listening “So, elementary school went fine for you—it wasn’t until middle school that the problems started.” “Your mother was from Bangladesh and your father was from Spain, and you moved here when you were five years old.”

Step 2: Descriptive Statements Clarify: double-check “It sounds like you have 2 sisters and 3 brothers. Is that right?” “Oh, I misunderstood… I thought your sister was overweight, but it was actually your brother.” “I think I missed that last part... You were saying that the kids in your neighborhood were…”

Step 2: Descriptive Statements Elaborate: encourage expansion “I wonder what part of being Muslim you like the most?” “I’m curious if you ever wished your religion was different than it is?” “What was the hardest part about growing up without a father?”

Step 3: Reflection Statements Acknowledging emotions: say the emotion you think the person felt at the time “That must have really hurt to hear that.” “You probably felt really angry.” “Seems like you were confused.”

Step 3: Reflection Statements Validating the person’s experience: allowing yourself to connect with support and empathy “It makes me feel upset hearing what happened to you.” “I am really impressed with how you managed that situation.” “I would have felt really alone if that happened to me.”

ANTICIPATING CHALLENGES…

Dealing with emotions What should you do if the person is showing a negative emotion?

Behavioral Challenges The withdrawn/quiet person The energetic person The aggressive/controlling person The bored person The anxious person Others?

Things to Observe General attitude and behavior  Appearance  Mood and affect  Age-appropriate behaviors  Degree of cooperation and compliance  Attention/concentration  Amount of effort put forth  Extent of responses - short vs. elaborate  Speech and language  Thought processes

Strategies for Prevention Follow the person’s lead Make eye contact (don’t take notes) Show empathy (not sympathy!) Make reflection statements Constantly evaluate the person’s needs  Take breaks  Adjust as needed

Activity: Anticipating Challenges Work in small groups to make a plan for dealing with situations that you are concerned about

IDENTITY AND ETHNICITY

IDENTITY Identity: who you are what you value the directions you choose to pursue in life

4 IDENTITY STATUSES (MARCIA) 1)Achievement: commitment after exploration 2)Moratorium: exploration w/o commitment  Higher self-esteem  More abstract & critical thinking skills  More advanced moral reasoning

4 IDENTITY STATUSES 3) Foreclosure: commitment w/o exploration  Inflexible, intolerant, fear rejection  At-risk for joining extremist groups 4) Diffusion: no exploration or commitment  Apathetic & impulsive  Time-management & academic probs  At-risk for depression, suicide, drug use

4 IDENTITY STATUSES (MARCIA) Can differ across domains Progress improves over time (in college)

INFLUENCES ON IDENTITY Personality/temperament: Family/parents Peers School

ETHNIC IDENTITY Ethnic identity: sense of belonging to an ethnic group 3 stages: 1) Unexamined ethnic identity 2) Ethnicity identity search 3) Achieved ethnic identity Exploration increases with age

ETHNIC IDENTITY Conflict between ethnic & majority culture Strong ethnic identity promoted by:  Parents encourage exploration  Effective parenting  Society’s respect of culture  Contact w/same-group peers Bicultural identity: exploring & adopting values from subculture & dominant culture