Approximately half (52%; n=15) of the 29 reviewed instruments focus on measuring health, with 14 (93%) of the 15 examining some aspect of mental health.  Only two of the instruments (the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness, [PILL] and the Severity Grade of Sexual Assault and Categories of Severity Grades) were designed specifically for victims/survivors of sexual assault.  The Post-Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale (PSS-SR) and the PTSD Check List - Civilian Version (PCL-C) were tested with rape survivors with a “recent” assault experience. 

Five instruments measure a single type of mental health problem (e.g., assessment of anxiety using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI); assessment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), the PTSD Interview (PTSD-I), the Post-traumatic Stress Symptom Scale (PSS-SR), or the PCL-C), while one instrument (e.g., the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)) results in a global mental health score. 

Three instruments include measures of more than one type of mental health problem (e.g., assessment of somatization, obsessive-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychotics using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI); assessment of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); assessment of dissociative disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID). 

Three instruments assess a persons’ distress, with 2 of these being different versions of the same instrument (i.e., assessment of distress due to life events using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R)) and the third being the Subjective Units of Distress (SUDS) to assess the intensity of adult patients’ current level of disturbance or distress.  One of the instruments, namely the Short Form-12 Health Questionnaire (SF-12) produces global scores for both mental health and physical health. 

The PILL is unique in that it was designed as a self-administered questionnaire specifically for rape survivors to assess physical symptoms and sensations that often result in response to such trauma.

The one health focused assessment instrument that did not include an assessment of mental health was designed for use by clinicians.  The Severity Grade of Sexual Assault and Categories of Severity Grades is a classification scheme that may be used by clinicians to group patients into risk categories for contracting HIV on the basis of the type and severity of sexual assault that they experienced.  This aids in clinical decision-making concerning the provision of the appropriate type of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis. Unfortunately it is not available online.

The times at which the instruments were administered to or self-administered by victims/survivors varied both within and across studies.  Resnick, Acierno, Holmes, et al. (1999) and Resnick, Acierno, Kilpatrick et al. (2005) included “females who were victims of forced vaginal, oral or anal penetration with the previous 72 hours.”  Participants completed the SUDS prior to and immediately following a post-rape exam; the BAI immediately following a medical exam; and the PSS-SR and the PILL at a 6-week follow-up visit.  Roy-Byrne, Russo, Michelson, et al. (2004) worked with sexual assault patients who did not require hospitalization for their injuries.  At one week following the assault, as well as at one and three-month follow-up visits, participants completed the CAPS, PCL-C, SCID and BSI.  Victims/survivors participating in the work by Harrison & Murphy (1999) completed an IEC scale but revised such that the reference to a particular time period is excluded.  The authors reported that the clinic with which they worked rarely offered immediate acute management-that is within 24 hours of a sexual assault-but focused instead on the management of short- and intermediate-term rape sequelae.  Lastly, Petrack & Campbell (1999) included sexual assault patients who had experienced rape within one year of the study.  Assessments were conducted using the CAPS, HADS, GHQ-12 and IES.

Both the topics assessed by the 15 health assessments as well as their formats varied across instruments.  Eleven were designed to be self-administered, 3 were designed to be administered via a clinical interview or used by a clinician, and 1 was designed to be either self-administered or administered during a clinical interview.  The instruments also vary in terms of administration time, from 5 to 60 minutes.  All of the instruments are available in English and four are available in Spanish.  Information concerning psychometric properties was available for all of the instruments except for the Subjective Units of Distress.