The terror attack 22 th of July. The impact of the subsequent legal proceedings on the mental health of the Utøya survivors

Main objective

Objective The study’s main objective is to acquire knowledge on how adolescents experienced police interrogations and the legal processes after the 22nd of July.

This study will also provide understanding of how the different professionals within the police and judicial system interpret and carry out their role during the terror case’s interrogation and legal processes, and what we can learn from the positive experiences.

This study will also benefit children and adolescents exposed to other types of trauma (violence and abuse both in public and in intimate relationships) during their encounter with the police and judicial system. This projects aims to both generate theories and be of practical use.

Method

The study is qualitative and the following data serves as the foundation of the study:

• Interviews of adolescents who survived the Utøya attack.
• Interviews with police officers who had conducted investigative interviews with the adolescents.
• Observations of videos recorded during these investigative interviews.
• bservations made in court.