Using Neuroscience in the design of survey and interview questionnaires

• In Event: Improvements in Knowledge Development

Abstract

Increasingly, violence prevention programs and programs targeting youth violence and juvenile justice utilize findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study and highlight the importance of Trauma Informed Care (TIC). This presentation will 1) discuss the unintended consequences of the ACE study and TIC from a neuroscience perspective and 2) present a framework and rationale for survey design and program evaluation that incorporates strengths, decreases distress in respondents, and can provide richer descriptive profiles and greater explanatory power. When strengths as well as problems and symptoms are collected there is a deeper understanding of the factors that shape human behavior. There is a more reliable understanding of what should be replicated in program design and far better knowledge about the characteristics of “at risk” populations that appear associated with better or worse outcomes. However, one of the most compelling reasons for intentionally weaving strengths into both research and practice comes from what neuroscience has found about the human nervous system and its powerful role in the regulation of physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning. These factors affect information-gathering processes such as quantitative and qualitative research protocols and intake questionnaires. Examples from projects in Rwanda and the U.S. will illustrate the points.

Authors

• Laurie Leitch, Threshold GlobalWorks

• Ann Jacobs, Prisoner Reentry Institute of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY