Shortening the Sexual Experiences Survey-Victimization (SES-V) by Combining Sexual Behaviors

AI Summary

Combining sexual behaviours halved SES-V items (120 to 60) and resulted in no significant difference in overall prevalence (56.1% vs 61.0%).
No significant differences emerged across types: non-penetrative, penetrative, and made-to-penetrate victimisation.
Shortening did not affect survey fatigue or duration, indicating combining behaviours efficiently preserves measurement while improving brevity.

J Child Sex Abus. 2026 May 4:1-17. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2026.2667228. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) is a widely used measure of sexual victimization. The most recent version of the SES, the Sexual Experiences Survey-Victimization (SES-V), released in 2024 is longer than prior versions. This raises potential concerns about the length of the SES. However, no existing research has examined questionnaire length in relation to SES function or outcomes. Participants were 351 college women who completed an anonymous online questionnaire as part of a larger study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two early versions of the SES-V. Participants either received the standard sexual behavior items (six sub-stems, total 120 items), or combined sexual behavior items (three sub-stems, total 60 items). In the standard condition, the overall prevalence rate was 56.1%; in the shortened condition the prevalence rate was 61.0%; these were not statistically significant differences, χ2(1) = .838, p = .360, Cramer’s V = .049. We repeated these analyses for different types of sexual behaviors and for each module. There were no statistically significant differences in the endorsement of non-penetrative sexual contact (48.7 vs 54.9%), penetrative contact (34.8 vs. 34.1%), or made-to-penetrate contact (42.8 vs. 47.0%), p‘s > .245. There were no statistically significant differences in indicators of survey fatigue, including the survey duration (t(349) = .189). Combining sexual behaviors appears to be an efficient way to facilitate the brevity of sexual victimization measurements while likely having minimal impact on reported prevalence rates.

PMID:42081663 | DOI:10.1080/10538712.2026.2667228

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