Revising the SES: A collaborative process to improve assessment of sexual aggression and victimization
Open accessAbstract
The Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) assesses victimization and perpetration of unwanted sexual experiences (e.g., Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987 ). Revised versions of the SES that resulted from the work of the SES Collaboration are now available. This article reviews weaknesses of the SES that were identified, strengths that were preserved, and methodological considerations in the measurement of unwanted sexual experiences that informed the revisions. The primary changes include: more behavioral specificity; conversion to gender neutrality; full crossing of unwanted acts and coercive tactics; and revised and updated wording for assessing consent, alcohol-related incidents, unwanted acts, and coercive tactics. For illustration, the full text of the revised victimization version and its scoring rules are provided. The article concludes with suggestions for future research. These suggestions aim to involve researchers in a coordinated agenda to develop data that clarify methodological questions and contribute to continued improvement in assessing sexual victimization and perpetration.
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The Sexual Experiences Survey covers many SA types and is regarded as a gold-standard self-report measure of SA victimization.
“Some studies use the Sexual Experiences Survey (Koss et al., 2007), which includes a variety of types of SA (e.g., coerced, incapacitated, and forced; attempted and completed; fondling and penetrative SA) and, given its specificity, is considered to be a gold standard self-report measure for assessing SA victimization.”
From Sexual assault victimization and psychopathology: A review and meta-analysis (2017) · cites this paper as Koss et al., 2007
The Appendix A victimization survey covers fondling, penetration and attempted penetration, with tactics including verbal coercion, incapacitation and force. The “Strengths and Weaknesses Identified” section says the SES is widely used and behaviorally specific, but the paper does not call it a gold standard; it also cautions that treating existing versions as a standardized measure is becoming less justifiable. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Koss, M. P., Abbey, A., Campbell, R., Cook, S., Norris, J., Testa, M., Ullman, S., West, C., & White, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Wayne State University (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Washington Tacoma (US)
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US)
- Corresponding author
- Koss, Mary P.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychology of Women Quarterly
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2007-12
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 357-370
- ISSN
- 0361-6843 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-6402
- OpenAlex
- W2051382776
- Cited by
- 1,263
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 76 · 2024: 95 · 2023: 100 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 117 · 2020: 137 · 2019: 88 · 2018: 90 · 2017: 60 · 2016: 79 · 2015: 72 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 41
- FWCI
- 24.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- libres.uncg.edu
- Locations
- Psychology of Women Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- NC Digital Online Collection of Knowledge and Scholarship (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Keywords
- Sexual Experiences Survey, sexual victimization, sexual offending, unwanted sexual experiences, coercive practices, consent, gender neutrality, scoring rules
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