Children's Awareness of Scary Secrets Questionnaire (CASSQ) is a 6-item, self-reported measure that aims to assess the child's ability to distinguish between secrets that are okay (e.g. a surprise) from secrets that are not okay to keep (e.g. being asked to touch someone’s private parts for money).
Geographies Tested: Taiwan
Populations Included: Female, Male
Age Range: Adolescents, Children
1. You know the details of a cartoon movie but your friend does not because he has not seen the movie.
2. Someone approaches you at the park and asks you to touch his or her private parts in exchange for money.
3. Your cousin plays a body checkup with you and looks at or touches your private parts.
4. While playing hide-and-seek, you know where people are hiding.
5. You know the surprise birthday gift for your mother.
6. Your classmates pulled your pants down on purpose during the 10-minute break between classes.
Response Options:
Okay secrets
Not okay secrets
Statements are either okay or not okay. If the respondent chooses the correct option, they receive 1 point. Scores of the 6 statements are summed and range from 0 to 6.
Chen, Y. C., Fortson, B. L., & Tseng, K. W. (2012). Pilot evaluation of a sexual abuse prevention program for Taiwanese children. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 21(6), 621-645. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2012.726699
Psychometric Score
Ease of Use Score
Formative ResearchQualitative Research
Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework
Field Expert Input
Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing
ReliabilityInternal
Test-retest
Interrater
ValidityContent
Face
Criterion (gold-standard)
Construct
KEY
Ease of UseReadability
Scoring Clarity
Length
Evidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equality (EMERGE)
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