ASKING ABOUT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - METHODOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF A 2-STAGE SURVEY

In a two stage retrospective survey on child sexual abuse (CSA), a maj ority of CSA incidents were reported at both postal and interview stag es of the survey. Incidents that involved genital contact were most li kely to be reported at both stages. A significant number of women repo rted abuse by a close family member in the postal questionnaire but no t at interview. In contrast, incidents mentioned only at interview wer e more likely to be carried out by a stranger. At interview, many wome n who replied negatively to a general screening question on CSA went o n to report abuse in response to detailed descriptive questions. This was especially true for noncontact experiences. Increasingly restricti ve definitions of CSA lowered the prevalence rate for CSA under the ag e of 16 years from 34.4% to 19.7%. The implication of these findings f or the design of future studies is discussed.