Psychometric Properties of the Korean Version of the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory

ABSTRACT

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the child sexual behavior inventory (CSBI) for children under 10 years of age. Participants comprised a community sample (CS) of 652 children aged three to nine years and 226 sexually abused (SA) children in the same age range. Parents rated the CSBI, the child behavior checklist (CBCL), and the traumatic symptom checklist for young children (TSCYC). We examined internal consistency as a measure of reliability and conducted ANOVA for discriminant and Pearson’s correlations for convergent and divergent validity. The reliability coefficient indicated internal consistency (α = .59–.97). There was a significant correlation between sexual behaviors and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in both samples (r = 0.30–0.48, p < .001). The correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and sexual concern in the SA sample was very high (r = 0.56–0.66, p < .001). There was a significant difference in sexual behavior between the CS and SA. These findings demonstrate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the CSBI and its usefulness in identifying children suspected of sexual abuse. However, the research identified cultural differences in the sexual behavior of the CS.

KEYWORDS:

• Child sexual behavior inventory
• sexual abuse
• PTSD
• cultural differences
• Korea

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2020S1A5A8042987).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation for the Inha University and Yonsei University and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government [NRF-2020S1A5A8042987].

Notes on contributors

Ji Young Choi

Ji Young Choi Ph.D., is a Professor at Inha University in Incheon, Republic of Korea.

Dong Ho Song

Dong Ho Song Ph.D., MD, is a Clinical Professor at Department of Psychiatry and Institue of Behavior Science in Medicine, Yonsei University and Director of the Institute for Sexually Abused Children, Seoul, Republic of Korea.