The present research describes the development of a protocol for the assessment of the occurrence of child sexual abuse that is designed to facilitate the evaluation of its psychometric properties by using a hypothesis testing model and a structured format of administration. The Sexual Abuse Structured Interview for Children (SASIC) aims to provide the field with an efficient, practical, empirically sound assessment device. The proposed research is a feasibility study and will accomplish the evaluation of the SASIC by experts in child information processing, child structured interviewing, legal utility, minority appropriateness, and appropriateness for child sexual abuse. The second goal is to demonstrate that the SASIC can be functionally administered by trained interviewers. This will be accomplished by training SASIC interviewers and evaluating their format adherence during a subsequent SASIC administration. According to the applicant, after these studies have been completed, the SASIC will be content valid, administrable and free from the effects of leading or suggestive questioning (a claim made possible by the structured format). Phase II studies will further investigate the SASIC's reliability and validity in non-analog settings, as well as increase its ethnic diversity (e.g., create a Spanish language version).
