Sexual Assault Attitudes Regarding Treatment and Reporting Survey

Abstract

The Sexual Assault Treating/Reporting Attitudes Survey (SATRAS) is a 46-item psychological scale designed to measure community attitudes and beliefs concerning various aspects of sexual assault, including reporting behaviors and the process of seeking treatment. Developed by Vetta L. Sanders Thompson and Sharon West Smith, the instrument is utilized to assess public understanding of trauma, treatment needs, and the role of the judicial system in these cases.

The survey is structured into three primary components: demographic data collection, assessment of specific attitudes related to reporting and treatment decisions, and responses to detailed vignettes that depict various scenarios of rape and child molestation.

Keywords

Sexual assault, reporting attitudes, treatment attitudes, victim responsibility, child sexual abuse, rape, community attitudes, social services, judicial system, psychological scale.

Authors

Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, Sharon West Smith.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SATRAS is to systematically assess prevailing community attitudes regarding the decision-making processes following an incident of sexual assault or child sexual abuse. The instrument serves as a tool for researchers and practitioners to identify knowledge gaps, barriers to reporting, and common fears associated with seeking help.

Specifically, the survey delves into participants’ knowledge of the short-term and long-term psychological effects of these traumas, their beliefs concerning the necessity of treatment, their preferred sources for treatment provision, and their expectations or fears associated with involving the police or the judicial system and various social service agencies.

Construct

The SATRAS measures the complex, multifaceted construct of Sexual Assault Attitudes. This construct is operationalized through the survey’s three sections, focusing on how the general public conceptualizes the appropriate response to sexual violence and the allocation of responsibility.

Key dimensions measured include Knowledge and Perception of Trauma Effects (awareness of the consequences of rape and child sexual abuse), Treatment and Reporting Intentions (focusing on preferences for care providers and perceived barriers to disclosure), and Attribution of Responsibility, which is measured explicitly through responses to the ten behavioral vignettes.

Validity

The instrument exhibits strong Content Validity, as the items were developed to comprehensively cover critical areas identified in sexual assault literature, including knowledge of effects, treatment needs, reporting barriers, and involvement with the judicial system and social service agencies.

The use of detailed behavioral vignettes, requiring participants to rate victim responsibility on a 5-point scale, enhances the instrument’s ability to capture subtle variations in attitudes, thereby supporting Construct Validity related to prejudice and victim-blaming attitudes concerning both adult rape and child molestation incidents.

Reliability

Standard development procedures for a comprehensive 46-item psychological scale would typically involve assessing Internal Consistency Reliability, most commonly using Cronbach’s alpha for the attitude sections. Although specific alpha coefficients are not provided in the source documentation, the multi-section structure suggests that different subscales (e.g., knowledge vs. reporting fear) may possess varying degrees of internal coherence based on their distinct measurement goals.

Factor Analysis

Given the instrument’s division into distinct conceptual areas—knowledge, reporting concerns, and complex vignette responses—it is highly probable that Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed during the development phase. EFA would be crucial for determining the underlying factor structure of the 46 items and verifying that the attitude section yields coherent subscales relating to specific dimensions, such as barriers to reporting or beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment.

Instrument

Test Type: Attitude Survey / Community Assessment Tool

Format: 46 items across three sections (Demographics, Attitudes, 10 Vignettes). The third section uses a 5-point rating scale for assessing victim responsibility.

Language Available: English (Implied)

Population Group: General Community Population

Age Group: Adults (Implied participants are capable of responding to complex vignettes and demographic questions)

Population Details: The scale is designed to assess the perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of community members regarding sexual assault, rather than focusing on clinical populations or victims.

Test Methodology: Self-report questionnaire utilizing standardized questions and structured responses to ten detailed vignettes depicting scenarios of child molestation (three female, three male) and rape (three female, one male by a stranger).

Keywords

Sexual assault attitudes, reporting behaviors, treatment preferences, vignette methodology, victim blame, Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, Washington University in St. Louis.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Vetta L. Sanders Thompson)

Correspondence Address: Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, Washington University in St. Louis, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Campus Box 1009, 700 Rosedale Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63112–1408.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Specific information regarding licensing fees or the exact year of initial publication is not provided in the source material. However, a copy of this instrument may be obtained from the Health and Psychosocial Instruments database, Behavioral Measurement Database Services, P.O. Box 110287, Pittsburgh, PA 15232–0787. Interested parties should contact the corresponding author or the database service for current permission requirements and licensing fees. The instrument’s methodology for the vignette section is based on a prior survey by Howard (1988).

Reference’s

Howard, J. (1988). A structural approach to sexual attitudes. Sociological Perspectives, 31, 88–121.

Items of the Sexual Assault Treating/Reporting Attitudes Survey

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

• Do you believe there are detrimental or bad effects for a child who has been sexually abused or molested?
• If your child were sexually abused or molested, would you seek treatment or counseling (beyond medical treatment)? Which of the following do you think/feel might be long-term effects of child sexual abuse or molestation:
• If a family member or friend were raped or sexually assaulted, would you recommend that they seek treatment or counseling (beyond medical treatment)?
• Would you be more likely to seek treatment if you knew that there would be no police or judicial involvement? Can males be sexually molested or raped?
• Where would you go for help or treatment?