The development and validation of a multi-dimensional assessment instrument of child sexual abuse experiences /
Previous researchers investigating the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult psychological adjustment have used different dichotomous definitions of CSA. A multi-faceted model of CSA was developed that allows for the variability of CSA experiences to be assessed. The purposes of t...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2001.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=726103521&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Previous researchers investigating the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult psychological adjustment have used different dichotomous definitions of CSA. A multi-faceted model of CSA was developed that allows for the variability of CSA experiences to be assessed. The purposes of this study were to: a) develop a multi-dimensional assessment instrument of CSA (the Multi-dimensional Measure of Child Sexual Abuse - MMCSA), b) determine the psychometric properties of the MMCSA, and c) determine how well it predicts scores on a measure of adult adjustment (the Trauma Symptom Checklist - TSC). The MMCSA was given with four measures of CSA and the TSC to non-clinical and clinical samples of 195 and 24 women. In addition, the MMCSA was sent to 25 professionals to gather content validity data. Experts reported that MMCSA domains and items are appropriate for measuring CSA; however, experts suggested substantial changes in the measure for it to be used in research. The overall score of the MMCSA, as well as frequency, duration, verbal coercion, and physical coercion scores of the MMCSA demonstrated adequate test-retest reliability. The overall score of the MMCSA correlated significantly with two measures of the construct. Reported age of onsets and durations showed adequate convergent validity. In addition, relationship to perpetrator scores demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. However, frequencies of sexual experiences, verbal/physical coercion scores, and disclosure variables did not have adequate convergent or discriminant validity. Aspects of the MMCSA were found to distinguish between non-clinical and clinical samples and to predict trauma related symptomotology. Although not a robust finding, continuous scoring of the frequencies of sexual experiences was more predictive of psychological symptomatology than dichotomous scoring. Due to study limitations, revisions suggested by experts, and less than completely adequate psychometric properties, results suggest that the MMCSA needs substantial revision before it is used as a standard measure. However, this study revealed: a) important knowledge about the measurement of CSA that can be used to develop future questionnaires, and b) that CSA can be assessed similarly to other constructs in psychological research. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Psychology". |
| Physical Description: | xii, 115 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-99). |