The Sexual Grooming Scale – Victim Version: The Development and Pilot Testing of a Measure to Assess the Nature and Extent of Child Sexual Grooming

Date

2021

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Victims & Offenders

Abstract

Sexual grooming has been deemed an integral component of child sexual abuse (CSA). However, the nature and extent of sexual grooming remains understudied in large part because an empirically-validated scale for child sexual grooming has yet to be developed. We developed the Sexual Grooming Scale – Victim Version (SGS-V) to assess the stages and behaviors described in the content-validated Sexual Grooming Model from a victim’s perspective. The SGS-V was pilot tested with 115 adult victims of CSA. Overall, results supported the feasibility in terms of implementation and its limited-efficacy. The implications for prevention, investigation, treatment, and research are discussed.

Description

Keywords

grooming, manipulation, research, child sexual abuse, measure

Citation

Winters, G. M., & Jeglic, E. L. (2021). The Sexual Grooming Scale–Victim Version: The Development and Pilot Testing of a Measure to Assess the Nature and Extent of Child Sexual Grooming. Victims & Offenders, 1-22.

DOI