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Validational Study of the Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated With Sexual Abuse (SASA) Using Three Samples of Sexually Abused, Allegedly Abused, and Nonabused Boys

NCJ Number
170897
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 21 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1997) Pages: 1159-1167
Author(s)
R Wells; J McCann; J Adams; J Voris; B Dahl
Date Published
1997
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the internal reliability, discriminant validity, and sensitivity/specificity of the Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated with Sexual Abuse with three subsamples of boys; it also describes the specific symptoms that best differentiate sexually abused from nonabused males.
Abstract
With the rapid increase in sexual abuse allegations, there is a growing need to develop instruments to help clinicians determine the likelihood that sexual abuse has occurred. This study assessed the discriminant validity of a structured parent interview regarding emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms by comparing results among three subsamples of age-matched boys: 22 sexually abused boys whose perpetrators confessed, 47 boys evaluated in a sexual abuse clinic but without a history of perpetrator confession, and 52 nonabused boys selected after rigorous screening. Findings show that compared with the nonabused boys, the sexually abused boys were significantly more likely to manifest sudden emotional and behavioral changes, frequent stomach aches, more knowledge about sex and sexual activities than expected for the age, unusual aggressiveness toward playmates or toy's private parts, crying easily, difficulty getting to sleep, and a change to poor school performance. The internal reliability of the instrument was determined to be .83, and scoring of an abbreviated 12-item scale showed a sensitivity of 90.9 percent and a specificity of 88.5 percent. The findings suggest that the Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated with Sexual Abuse is an effective tool that may help in the comprehensive assessment of boys who may have been sexually abused. 3 tables and 30 references

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