Social functioning of survivors of child sexual abuse: an analysis of childhood experiences and long-term effects

This study provided preliminary reliability and validity data for a measure of characteristics of child sexual abuse which may impair social development, and examined the relationship of these variables to adult functioning. Participants were 56 undergraduate psychology students reporting a history of child sexual abuse. The research measure was the Social Sequelae of Sexual Abuse (SSSA) scale (Gameros & Harter, 1996). Adult psychological functioning was evaluated using the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40), and social functioning was measured with the Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report (SAS-SR). The SSSA demonstrated good reliability and validity, comparing favorably with similar measures developed by other researchers. It significantly predicted TSC-40 scores, accounting for 27% of the variance, but did not significantly predict social functioning.