Gay and bisexual men's age-discrepant childhood sexual experiences

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2004 by Jessica L. Stanley, Kim Bartholomew, Doug Oram

The relationship between the older person and youth was categorized as parent, sibling, extended family, acquaintance, family friend, stranger, or community member ([kappa] = .95, 96% agreement, n = 25). We rated the length of time over which the sexual experiences occurred according to the following scale: once, twice, a few times, 1-8 weeks, 2-4 months, 5-12 months, and more than 1 year. Interrater reliability for the duration of the sexual activity was r(26) = .97. The presence of coercion in participants' description of the sexual activity was coded on a yes-no basis ([kappa] = 1.00, 100% agreement, n = 29), and participants' childhood perceptions of the sexual experience as abusive were coded on a yes-no basis ([kappa] = .87, 97% agreement, n = 30). Participants' current perceptions of the sexual experience as abusive were also coded on a yes-no basis ([kappa] = .76, 90% agreement, n = 31), while participants' perceptions of the valence of the experience were rated as either negative or positive/neutral ([kappa] = .86, 93% agreement, n = 28). Perceptions judged as negative included sexual experiences that were described as disturbing, traumatic, or negative in any way. We included experiences that were described as involving both positive and negative aspects in the negative category.

Participants' sexual experiences before age 17 with someone at least 5 years older were categorized as age-based CSA. We further coded those experiences identified as age-based CSA according to participants' perceptions of the experience. Perception-based CSA consisted of experiences that were coercive, were perceived as negative, and/or were perceived as abusive from either a child or an adult perspective. In contrast, a childhood sexual experience (CSE) consisted of age-discrepant sexual activity that was not described as abusive or coercive and that was described positively or neutrally ([kappa] = .80, 90% agreement, n = 31).

Adjustment Measures

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965). The RSES is a 10-item sell-report measure designed to assess self-acceptance and self-worth. Items were scored on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher total scores indicating higher self-esteem. Cronbach's alpha for the total score was .87.

Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS; Beck, Weissman, Lester, & Trexler, 1974). This scale measures respondents' negative expectations about self and future prospects. Hopelessness is proposed to be a core component of depression (Beck et al., 1974). The BHS is a 20-item, true-false, self-report scale. An example item is "Things just won't work out for me the way I want them to." The total score had a Cronbach's alpha of .94.

Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; Horowitiz, Rosenberg, Baer, Ureno, & Villasenor, 1988). The IIP is a 64-item self-report inventory assessing interpersonal problems. A set of eight scales, composed of 8 items each, assess interpersonal problems in the areas of dominance, competitiveness, coldness, introversion, passivity, exploitability, nurturance, and expressiveness. For example, a high nurturance score indicates difficulties with being overly nurturing in relationships. Each item is rated on a 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely) Likert scale. The coefficients for the eight scales ranged from .72 to .88 with a mean of .81. Cronbach's alpha for the total score was .95.