Investigated the social adjustment of rape victims during one year following their assaults. Victims exhibited disruption in overall social adjustment for the first few months. By four months after the rape, most of the subscales had stabilized at levels similar to the nonvictims'. Work adjustment was affected through eight months following the…

Examined whether having had a friend or family member experience rape heightens empathy for rape victims. Subjects who knew a rape victim reported experiencing more empathy for a patient presented on videotape than did subjects not knowing a rape victim. This empathy extended to all victims of trauma. (RJM)

Evaluated elderly victims of rape and determined the variables affected solely by the patient's age. It was found that 71.7 percent of these assaults took place at the victim's home, and most were by an unknown assailant. Genital injury was more prevalent among elderly victims. Physical intimidation was all that was necessary to subdue the victims…

Highlights the methodological issues pertinent in the design of studies to evaluate the treatment outcome of rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder. The wide range of interventions for the treatment of postrape sequelae are reviewed, and special attention is given to cognitive-behavioral interventions because they have been subjected to more…

Assigned 45 rape victims with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to stress inoculation training (SIT), prolonged exposure (PE), supportive counseling, or wait-list. All conditions produced improvements on PTSD symptoms, rape-related distress, general anxiety, and depression. SIT produced significantly more improvement on PTSD symptoms than did…

Explores gender, class, and ethnicity differences of 400 undergraduate students to assess their attitudes toward rape victims. Although no significant differences were found by class or ethnicity, a significant difference was found by gender. Men reported a higher score than women, denoting more unfavorable attitudes toward rape victims. (MKA)

Examines whether two trauma characteristics that are hypothesized to relate to perceptions of safety--assault location and assailant identity--predict rate and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female rape victims. Contrary to prediction, women assaulted by dangerous assailants reported significantly more severe PTSD symptoms…

Assessed predicted psychological differences between denying (n=30) and admitting (n=72) male sex offenders within the framework of Eysenck's theory on the personality of criminals. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Gudjonsson's Compliance Questionnaire (CQ) were administered to consenting participants who were probationers in…

Examined personal beliefs and perceptions of cultural stereotypes surrounding rape victims. Primarily white college students listed their beliefs and perceptions and rated a specific rape victim accordingly. Students' personal beliefs tended to focus more on perceptions of victim reactions to the rape rather than rape myths. However, their…

Past research has shown that date rape is a crime that is committed with surprising frequency, particularly on college campuses, and that college men may hold a number of rape-tolerant attitudes that make this crime more likely. In the present research, 300 men and women college students read one of three vignettes, varying the type of descriptive…

Although police officers are routinely criticized for their negative attitudes and behavior toward sexual assault victims, few programs are described in the literature which educate and train officers to improve their actions in this area. This neglect is addressed in this study, in which three classes of police recruits are examined: (1) a…

Anger and consciousness of rights may play a significant role in victimization prevention. In an attempt to examine how personal defense and assertiveness training would alter women's feelings of fear, helplessness, and anger, as well as their judgments of what rights they have, three studies were conducted. The first study, a participant…

It was hypothesized that adjudged severity of rape depends on sexual/social history of the victim, even when non-consent is established. Ss (N=650) recommended sentences for rapists for five types of victim when victim testimony was corroborated vs. non-corroborated. "Victim" effect was significant, "corroboration" effect was not. Sex differences…

Traditionally, rape has been defined as "carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will." The test of force has been crucial, and consent deduced. Victims were assumed to be consenting parties unless criminal circumstances could be proved. Victims were oftened questioned about past sexual behavior. Current reform efforts have attempted…

Assessed the extent to which postassault situational variables reflecting exposure to attack-similar stimulus appeared to relate to long-term psychological distress of victims. Determined whether a classical conditioning model could adequately describe long-term responses by victims of different forms of assault, including (but not limited to)…