The Severe Sexual Sadism Scale: cross-validation and scale properties

Area of Science:

• Forensic Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Sexual sadism is a forensic concern requiring reliable assessment tools.
• Existing methods may lack sufficient psychometric validation for forensic use.
• The Severe Sexual Sadism Scale (SSSS) was developed as a screening device.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate the scale structure of the SSSS.
• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the SSSS in a forensic sample.
• To assess the reliability and criterion validity of the SSSS for diagnosing sexual sadism.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the scale structure.
• The 1-parameter logistic test model (Rasch model) was applied.
• Reliability and criterion validity were assessed using a sample of 105 Austrian sexual offenders.

Main Results:

• The study replicated the 1-dimensional scale structure of the SSSS.
• The scale demonstrated good reliability and criterion validity.
• A cutoff score of 7 yielded 56% sensitivity and 90% specificity for diagnosing sexual sadism.

Conclusions:

• The SSSS is a psychometrically sound instrument for screening severe sexual sadism.
• The scale is suitable for file-based forensic assessments of sexual offenders.
• The SSSS shows good potential for clinical diagnosis of sexual sadism.