FINKELHOR RISK FACTOR CHECKLIST - A CROSS-VALIDATION STUDY

Finkelhor's (1979) Risk Factor Checklist factors were reexamined as predictors of childhood sexual abuse. Special procedures were employed, designed to facilitate a high degree of honest and diligent task implementation by the female college students who served as subjects, and to provide strong ethical safeguards for them. Results indicated (a) that subjects reported a relatively high incidence, 24.3%, of childhood sexual abuse; and (b) that the eight factors comprising the Risk Factor Checklist, employed individually and collectively, did not strongly and significantly predict sexual victimization. Only one factor, low family income, proved predictive, while three others showed trends in the predicted direction. Results sound a cautionary note regarding our ability to actuarially predict childhood sexual victimization.