Assessment of sexually abused children

A great deal is at stake for children who are sexually abused; not only in the here-and-now, but also the possibility of long-term blight in their fut ure relationships and mental health. This puts a heavy responsibility on th e professionals who are required to investigate, and further assess for tre atment or other interventions, cases where sexual maltreatment is confirmed or suspected. The multidimensional, multicomponent elements that make up a n assessment (in particular, the ASPIRE process) are described here in term s of their practical and theoretical implications. The difficulties of find ing reliable and valid methods (be they interviews or psychometric instrume nts) for this onerous task are discussed.