Sexual Victimization Among African American Adolescent Females: Examination of the Reliability and Validity of the Sexual Experiences Survey

• Published in: Journal of interpersonal violence 2006-01, Vol.21 (1), p.89-104
• Main Authors: Cecil, Heather, Matson, Steven C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent girls; Adolescents; African Americans; African Americans - psychology; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Alcoholism; Behavior; Black American people; Crime Victims - psychology; Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Psychology); Discriminant Validity; Family Relationship; Female; Females; Girls; Humans; Internal Consistency; Mental depression; Polls & surveys; Population Surveillance - methods; Psychometric Analysis; Psychometrics; Psychometrics - instrumentation; Regression Analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Factors; Self Concept; Self Esteem; Sex crimes; Sex Offenses - ethnology; Sex Offenses - psychology; Sexual Abuse; Sexual Assault; Sexual Experiences Survey; Sexual Partners - psychology; Sexual violence; Smoking; Socioeconomic Factors; Spouse Abuse - ethnology; Spouse Abuse - psychology; Substance Abuse; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Teenagers; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Victims of Crime
• ISSN: 0886-2605; 1552-6518
• DOI: 10.1177/0886260505281606

Adolescent females are disproportionately represented among reported cases of sexual victimization. Because sexual victimization is associated with an array of negative sequelae (e.g., depression, alcohol abuse), psychometrically sound instruments are urgently needed to assess sexual victimization or coercion. The investigation conducts a preliminary analysis of the reliability and validity of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) for a sample drawn from a high-risk population—African American adolescent females. Our analyses indicate good internal consistency for the SES with this sample. Convergent validity is demonstrated. Specifically, scores on the SES are associated with significantly lower levels of self-esteem and mastery, higher levels of depression, lower levels of family cohesion, higher levels of family conflict, and higher levels of using alcohol and being a smoker. Preliminary support for discriminant validity is also obtained. This study is a stepping stone for future investigations into the psychometric evaluation of the SES.