Objective: Explore the psychometric properties of the French Canadian version of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28, Resilience Research Center, 2009; Ungar et al., 2008) in youth samples. Method: Two investigations were conducted. Participants in Study 1 were 589 youth (60% female) in grades 10-12 from 2 urban public high schools.…

The "Manifestation of Symptomatology Scale" (MOSS) is a norm-referenced, self-report instrument designed to assess characteristics of psychopathology among children and adolescents from 11 to 18 years of age. Although the MOSS has been used in several research studies within juvenile justice or disciplinary education contexts, the psychometric…

In this study the authors examine the effect respondent gender, victim age, and offender treatment programs have upon public attitudes towards sex offenders. A community sample of 235 participants were asked to read a hypothetical vignette involving the sexual assault of a 10-, 15-, or 20-year-old female by a 35-year-old male who subsequently…

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) and to study traumatic symptoms in a normative group of Swedish children and adolescents. Method: A normative group of 728 children and adolescents age 10-17 and a clinical group of 91 children and adolescents known to have…

In research evaluating sexual abuse prevention programs, knowledge measures are typically used to assess the program's success. In other areas of research on child safety skills, however, skills are typically assessed through behavioral measures such as role-plays. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and acceptability of a set of…

Objective: To evaluate and compare the psychometric qualities of three retrospective, multi-item measures of childhood sexual abuse (CSA): the CSA Frequency Scale, CSA Count Index, and CSA Multiple Characteristics Index. Methods: Two samples of women 20-50 years old who experienced CSA were recruited from a family practice clinic (N=132) and the…

This pilot study assessed the performance of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) in correctly classifying the presence or absence of PTSD, as determined by the Diagnostic Interview for children and Adolescents-Parent (DICA-P). Participants included 34 children, ages 4 to 12, referred for outpatient treatment. The 11…

The convergent validity of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) was examined with a sample of 172 sexually abused outpatient treatment-seeking children and their caregivers. The TSCYC evidenced good convergent validity with other parent ratings (e.g., the Child Behavior Checklist, Child Sexual Behavior Inventory, and the…

Objective: To develop a child victimization survey among a diverse group of child protection experts and examine the performance of the instrument through a set of international pilot studies. Methods: The initial draft of the instrument was developed after input from scientists and practitioners representing 40 countries. Volunteers from the…

This project piloted a rapid assessment self-report measurement to be used with child and adolescent sexual abuse victims to ascertain the effectiveness of counseling. Results from 103 girls ages 10-17 years who had been victims of intrafamilial abuse suggest high test reliability, but content and discriminant validity of the test remain…

Seven young people have been referred to the Taith Service for downloading offences over a 3-year period. The extent to which young "downloaders" may be similar or different to adults convicted of similar offences is considered. The sample group is also compared to a larger group of young people who have engaged in contact sexual…

Asking children and adolescents directly about their experience of sexual victimization overcomes some of the methodological weaknesses inherent in other approaches. Yet complex legal, ethical, and methodological issues remain. This paper reviews the psychometric properties of those questions or instruments that have measured exposure to child…