This study examined the unique effects of child sexual abuse simultaneously with post-traumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, problem drinking, and illicit drug use in relation to sexual revictimization in a community sample of female adult sexual assault victims. Participants (N = 555) completed two surveys a year apart. Child sexual abuse…

Prior research has demonstrated that self-blame is predictive of more posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and poorer recovery (Frazier, 2003; Koss, Figueredo, & Prince, 2002), and perceived control over recovery is associated with less distress (Frazier, 2003) in adult sexual assault (ASA) survivors. A structural equation model was…

Relations between (a) serious suicidal ideation and attempts and (b) demographics, trauma history, assault characteristics, post-assault outcomes, and psychosocial variables were examined among female adult sexual assault survivors. Younger, minority, and bisexual survivors reported greater ideation. More traumas, drug use, and assault disclosure…

The goal of this exploratory study was to examine correlates of sexual assault disclosure and social reactions in female victims with and without drinking problems. An ethnically diverse sample of sexual assault survivors was recruited from college, community, and mental health agencies. Ethnic minority women were less likely to disclose assault,…

A number of studies have identified which survivors of sexual assault are more likely to develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most correlates that have been identified have been at the individual level. Insufficient attention has been given to whether survivors' social interactions impact their individual responses to assault…

Analyzed relation of situational factors, offender aggression, and victim resistance to women's sexual abuse and physical injury during sexual assaults using police reports/court testimonies of 274 women who avoided rape or were raped. After situational variables were partialed out, women's screaming was related to less severe sexual abuse;…

Past research has shown that self-defense/assertiveness training may have positive implications for sexual assault survivors. However, little is known about the correlates of self-defense/assertiveness training participation for sexually victimized women. In this study we examined the assault characteristics and experiences that relate to women's…

Examined how sexual assault history and attributions of blame were related to measures of recovery from, and cognitive adaptation to, trauma in a convenience sample of sexual assault victims (N=155). Results indicate that attributions of blame were related to assumptions about self and world but were unrelated to self-rated recovery. (RJM)

Analyzes the role of alcohol in sexual assault. Hierarchical multivariate regression showed that victim alcohol abuse propensity and both victim and offender alcohol use prior to attack were directly associated with more severe sexual victimization to women. Suggests that rape and alcohol abuse prevention efforts can benefit by incorporating…

A national sample of women (N=627) with histories of sexual assault in both childhood and adulthood reported significantly greater odds of lifetime suicide attempts. As predicted, younger age, stressful events, depression, and alcohol dependency were all associated with suicide ideation. Discusses role of sexual trauma and other psychological…

Recent studies have examined disclosure of child sexual abuse to determine the correlates and consequences of telling others about this form of victimization. The present article reviews the current empirical literature on disclosure and reactions to adult survivors to assess what is known about the process of disclosure and whether telling others…

Although many sexual assault survivors seek support from mental health sources for adverse psychological symptoms due to sexual assault, many do not. A diverse sample of adult sexual assault survivors was surveyed about their sexual assault experiences, social reactions received when disclosing assault, attributions of blame, coping strategies,…

This study's goal is to identify differences in background, assault, and post assault factors according to the victim-offender relationship. A mail survey is conducted with more than 1,000 female sexual assault survivors (response rate 90%) recruited from college, community, and mental health agency sources. Stranger assailants are associated with…

This study examined correlates of past-year chronic medical conditions and lifetime contact with health care professionals for mental health and substance abuse problems in women with differing histories of sexual victimization (N = 627) identified from the National Comorbidity Survey (e.g., assault in childhood, adulthood, or both life phases).…

This research examines the understudied issue of race/ethnicity in relation to child sexual abuse experiences (CSA) in a cross-sectional convenience sample of 461 female college students completing a survey. Comparisons of students' abuse experiences revealed ethnic differences in sexual abuse prevalence, severity of abuse, the victim-offender…