Responding to the Revised Sexual Experiences Survey: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Participant Experience

Presenter: Addison Lynn Kamrad

Group Members: Victoria M. Nascimento, Somara Annette Jerome

Faculty Sponsor: Sarah Rose Eagan

School: Worcester State University

Research Area: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Session: Poster Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM, Concourse, B3

ABSTRACT

The Sexual Experiences Survey - Short Form Victimization Scale (SES-SFV; Koss et al., 2024) has been considered the "gold standard" as a quantitative measure of sexual violence victimization. There are multiple versions of the SES; the most recent version was updated in 2024. The authors of the SES included ways to quantify sexually violent experiences before the victim’s 14th birthday, as well as new ways to evaluate the number of times any given sexual violence experience may have happened, ranging from 0 to 10+ occurrences. Participants' experiences have currently not been qualitatively studied for what they feel was necessary within a sexual violence survey; we aim to address these concerns to include a wide variety of data. Using Content Analysis (Krippendorff, 2018), the study aims to analyze a singular open-response question as part of a larger project. The said question asks, “Have you ever had an unwanted sexual experience that the questions did not ask about?” Responses varied, many addressing concerns about early life experiences before the age of 14, as well as major discrepancies involving SES questions. We also aim to investigate common forms of unwanted sexual violence that took place before the victim’s 14th birthday. These findings can improve clarity and reduce self-doubt among participants while taking the SES.

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