Test-Retest Reliabilities of Four Tactic-first Sexual Violence History Questionnaires

Objective: The present study documented, compared, and contrasted the test-retest reliabilities of the victimization and perpetration forms of a Tactic-first Sexual Experiences Survey (T-SESs) and the Post-Refusal Sexual Persistence Scale (PRSPSs).Methods: 243 Mechanical Turk workers (116 women, 124 men) completed four questionnaires in a randomized order via an anonymous web survey at Time 1 and approximately one week later at Time 2.Results: There were consistent gender differences in test-retest estimates. When assessing a history of victimization in women, both the T-SES and the PRSPS demonstrated evidence of minimal to good reliability (κ > .61, ICC = .86-92) while for men the PRSPS (κ = .64) was more consistent than the T-SES (κ = .59). When assessing a history of perpetration, there were fewer gender differences although post-hoc analyses suggest potential gender differences in assessing substance use facilitated perpetra-tion (κ .48-.83) but were limited by few cases. Continuous scoring approaches were the most reliable, dichotomous scores were mostly reliable, and categorical scores generally did not meet minimal ac-ceptable standards. For the rape victimization acknowledgment items, we found strong evidence of reliability for women (κ = .89, n = 31) and suggestive evidence of reliability for men (n = 7). There were few differences in reliability between standard and extended versions of the questionnaires.Conclusions: All four questionnaires exhibited good evidence of one-week test-retest reliability when scored continuously. Evidence of reliability was strongest with the populations and constructs most well studied – victimization history among women and perpetration history among men.