The effects of marital status and partner support on rape trauma

A Dyadic Study of Impacts of Sexual Assault Disclosure on Survivors' Informal Support Relationships

After a sexual assault, victims often disclose their assault to an informal support provider (SP) to receive social support. Ample research exists on social reactions of informal SPs to disclosure and how those reactions affect the victim both positively and negatively, but little research exists on how the disclosure impacts a survivor's support relationships both in the short and in the long term. This qualitative interview study examined 45 ethnically diverse informal support dyads where women disclosed sexual assault to an informal SP (e.g., friend, family, significant other). Assault disclosure was examined to determine its impact on relationship quality of survivors and their SPs. Results revealed positive and negative effects on survivor-SP relationships of assault disclosure and social reactions. In almost all matched pairs (91%), the survivor, SP, or both remarked on how the relationship had changed following disclosure. Family member SPs spoke of survivors' risk-taking and poor relationship choices. Significant others spoke of the toll of supporting survivors who sometimes left their needs unmet and strained their relationships with survivors. Friend SPs often appraised how the survivor engaged in other types of relationships, but overall felt that their relationships had become stronger or closer as a result of the disclosure. Implications of this study include acknowledging that informal supporters, particularly significant others, can experience adverse effects after disclosure, and that help is needed not only for survivors but also for their informal support sources. Future research should continue to investigate both the short-term and longitudinal impacts of sexual assault disclosure on survivors' informal support relationships.

Negative Responses to Disclosure of Sexual Victimization and Victims' Symptoms of PTSD and Depression: The Protective Role of Ethnic Identity

College-aged women experience high rates of sexual victimization. Their postassault symptoms are associated with the types of responses they receive from the people to whom they disclose these experiences. Negative responses are pervasive and associated with poorer outcomes. The current study examined whether a strong sense of ethnic identity and comfort with the mainstream culture moderate the association between negative responses to the first disclosure of sexual victimization and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. A diverse sample (10% Black/African American, 51% White, 39% Other, and 66% Hispanic) of undergraduate women was recruited from two urban, Eastern United States universities for this online study. Participants reported histories of sexual victimization, demographics, responses to sexual assault disclosure (i.e., victim blame, treating the victim differently, taking control, distraction, and egocentric reactions), symptoms of PTSD and depression, and their ethnic identity and mainstream cultural comfort. Thirty-seven percent (n = 221) endorsed an experience of sexual victimization, and 165 disclosed it to someone. Hierarchical ordinary least squares regressions revealed that a stronger sense of ethnic identity was associated with fewer symptoms of PTSD for those women who experienced higher levels of control, distraction, and egocentric responses from the first disclosure recipient. A strong sense of affiliation with the mainstream culture did not protect survivors who reported receiving negative responses to disclosure against symptoms of PTSD or depression. Ethnic affiliation may protect women against PTSD when they receive high levels of negative messages about sexual victimization experiences.

Postassault Substance Use and Coping: A Qualitative Study of Sexual Assault Survivors and Informal Support Providers

This qualitative interview study examined 45 informal support dyads where a sexual assault was disclosed. Data from matched pairs of survivors and their primary informal support provider (e.g., friend, family, significant other), were used to explore the survivor-support provider (SP) perspectives of coping with assault-related distress via substance use and the effects of survivor substance use on the survivor-SP relationship. Results revealed that survivors' use of drinking and/or drugs to cope had both positive and negative effects on survivor-SP relationships. Findings also showed that SPs play various roles in providing support to survivors who cope via substance use, including engaging in substance use with the survivor and efforts to help get help in their recovery from the assault and substance abuse. Suggestions are made for how safe spaces can be provided where survivors and supporters can get information and treatment, whether formal or informal, that addresses sexual assault, PTSD and substance abuse issues in an integrated way.

Sexual assault victimization and psychopathology: A review and meta-analysis

Sexual assault (SA) is a common and deleterious form of trauma. Over 40years of research on its impact has suggested that SA has particularly severe effects on a variety of forms of psychopathology, and has highlighted unique aspects of SA as a form of trauma that contribute to these outcomes. The goal of this meta-analytic review was to synthesize the empirical literature from 1970 to 2014 (reflecting 497 effect sizes) to understand the degree to which (a) SA confers general risk for psychological dysfunction rather than specific risk for posttraumatic stress, and (b) differences in studies and samples account for variation in observed effects. Results indicate that people who have been sexually assaulted report significantly worse psychopathology than unassaulted comparisons (average Hedges' g=0.61). SA was associated with increased risk for all forms of psychopathology assessed, and relatively stronger associations were observed for posttraumatic stress and suicidality. Effects endured across differences in sample demographics. The use of broader SA operationalizations (e.g., including incapacitated, coerced, or nonpenetrative SA) was not associated with differences in effects, although including attempted SA in operationalizations resulted in lower effects. Larger effects were observed in samples with more assaults involving stranger perpetrators, weapons, or physical injury. In the context of the broader literature, our findings provide evidence that experiencing SA is major risk factor for multiple forms of psychological dysfunction across populations and assault types.

“It'll Come Right Back at Me”

This study is based on qualitative analysis of interviews with 30 rape survivors. Participants who had been raped by men they knew often delayed telling anyone about the rape and experienced more negative reactions than those attacked by strangers. Reactions ranged from support and inconsistent support to silence/avoidance and hostility. The unpredictable pattern of reactions made all the survivors more hesitant about discussing their experiences with others. The results suggest the critical importance of the social context in which survivors discuss sexual victimization and why, at times, silence may be the most logical response.

Psychological consequences associated with positive and negative responses to disclosure of sexual assault among college women: a prospective study

A prospective design was utilized to explore the impact of social reactions to sexual assault disclosure among college women who experienced sexual victimization over a 4-month academic quarter. Women completed baseline, 4- and 7-month assessments of symptomatology, beliefs about why sexual assault occurs, victimization, and social reactions to sexual assault disclosure. Accounting for symptomatology or beliefs reported prior to the assault, positive social reactions were not associated with victims' subsequent symptomatology or beliefs. However, accounting for symptomatology or beliefs reported prior to the assault, higher negative social reactions were associated with victims' post-assault reports of hostility, fear, and beliefs about why sexual assault occurs.

Die Bedeutung partnerschaftlicher Stressbewältigung für die Beziehungsqualität und die posttraumatische Symptomausprägung

Hintergrund: Personen mit einer Posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung (PTBS) leiden häufig unter Partnerschaftsproblemen. Fragestellung: Untersucht wurde, ob die Anwendung positiver bei gleichzeitig geringer Nutzung negativer dyadischer Copingstrategien mit einer höheren Partnerschaftsqualität und einer geringeren Symptomausprägung der PTBS in Zusammenhang steht. Methode: 31 Paare bearbeiteten Selbst- und Fremdeinschätzungsinstrumente zum dyadischen Coping, zu individueller Stressbewältigung, Partnerschaftsqualität und PTBS-Symptomen. Ergebnisse: Partnerschaftsqualität korreliert positiv mit wesentlichen Formen des dyadischen Copings (p < .05). Niedrigere Diskrepanzen zwischen den gegenseitigen Einschätzungen des Copings sind mit positiver Partnerschaftsqualität verbunden (p < .05). Eine hohe Symptomausprägung der PTBS geht eher mit dysfunktionalem Coping der Betroffenen und einer Unterstützungsübernahme durch den Partner einher. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Befunde belegen die Relevanz positiven dyadischen Copings für die Bewältigung traumatischer Ereignisse. Dieses sollte in Paar- und Einzeltherapie-Ansätzen in der PTBS-Behandlung gesondert berücksichtigt werden.

An ecological model of the impact of sexual assault on women's mental health

This review examines the psychological impact of adult sexual assault through an ecological theoretical perspective to understand how factors at multiple levels of the social ecology contribute to post-assault sequelae. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1986, 1995) ecological theory of human development, we examine how individual-level factors (e.g., sociodemographics, biological/genetic factors), assault characteristics (e.g., victim-offender relationship, injury, alcohol use), microsystem factors (e.g., informal support from family and friends), meso/ exosystem factors (e.g., contact with the legal, medical, and mental health systems, and rape crisis centers), macrosystem factors (e.g., societal rape myth acceptance), and chronosystem factors (e.g., sexual revictimization and history of other victimizations) affect adult sexual assault survivors' mental health outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidality, and substance use). Self-blame is conceptualized as meta-construct that stems from all levels of this ecological model. Implications for curbing and/or preventing the negative mental health effects of sexual assault are discussed.

[Impact of moment of disclosure of a sexual assault on certain affective and relational aspects of adult victims]

This study examines if the timing of disclosure (early or late) of a sexual assault and if the romantic partner's participation in the study have an impact on relational and affective aspects of the victims at Time 1 (initial interview) and Time 2 (4 months later). The sexual assault occurred to victims (N = 27) between 1 month to 7 years prior to the first assessment interview. Twenty-six percent of victims were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Descriptive analyses indicate a difference between timing of disclosure and romantic partner's participation in the assessment process of the study. All victims indicate that they have received more emotional support at the second assessment in the study, whether they have disclosed the aggression early or lately. Victims have disclosed the assault early reported more depressive symptoms.

Psychological outcomes and measurement of maternal posttraumatic stress disorder during the perinatal period

For many parents, labor, delivery, and/or the perinatal and neonatal periods present significant stressors that result in clinically significant parental feelings of psychological distress or trauma. This review article identifies known preexisting risk, and protective, factors for such distress, focusing on individual variables and familial or other social support networks. Research describing the full range of possible psychological reactions is also presented, loosely categorized as representing psychological outcomes of resiliency or growth, externalized distress, and internalized distress. These outcomes are viewed as neither linear nor mutually exclusive, and specific implications for each outcome are presented. The primary focus of this review is on the most well understood internalizing distress outcome during the perinatal period, maternal posttraumatic stress reactions. The utility of a brief, freely available measure quantifying such distress is also overviewed, including standards for its usage. Healthcare and particularly nursing staff are encouraged to attend to the range of possible psychological outcomes that may emerge during the perinatal period, identifying distressed mothers, so that they may be referred for care. The review concludes by presenting recommended future directions for research regarding the measurement of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents.

[Social support and psychological consequences of sexual assault: a literature review]

Sexual assault results in important consequences for victims. An inadequate social support may have an impact on the victim's psychological condition and interfere with her adjustment. The purpose of the present article is to describe different support reactions linked to sexual assault and their impact on the psychological condition of the victims, the posttraumatic symptoms and the recovery. The specific contribution of the spouse living with the victim is exposed. The impact of the consequences resulting from the sexual assault on the quality of the support is also presented. Finally, clinical implications and research approach are proposed.

Conceptualizing the harm done by rape: applications of trauma theory to experiences of sexual assault

Based on a review of theory and evidence, this article highlights the limitations of trauma response models and applications of posttraumatic stress to characterize the experiences of women who are raped. There are two primary problems with trauma response theories. First, traditional notions of trauma are likely too narrow to accurately capture the complexities of women's experiences of sexual violence in a gendered society. Second, the symptoms emphasized by clinical applications of the trauma model may legitimate one sociocultural manifestation of distress while excluding others. Alternative conceptualizations are presented to stimulate more ecologically grounded and culturally inclusive study of sexual violence. Using the rape of women as an example, this article illustrates the limitations of Western views of trauma and encourages researchers and practitioners to expand notions of survivors' responses to painful events.