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Objective: Adults with ADHD are often victims of psychological and physical violence by romantic partners, but less is known regarding whether ADHD is associated with sexual assault victimization. Method: Adults with ( n = 97) and without childhood histories of ADHD ( n = 121) rated their experiences with sexual assault victimization and additional risk factors (i.e., alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, and experiencing child abuse). Results: Adults with ADHD histories were more likely to report being victims of sexual assault, especially attempted rape or rape, than adults without ADHD histories. The rate of rape victimization was not greater for adults with ADHD histories and persistent symptoms or additional risk factors. Conclusion: Research is needed to investigate potential mechanisms explaining the link between ADHD and sexual victimization. Clinicians seeking to prevent at-risk populations from becoming victims, or to provide services for victims, should consider screening adults for ADHD histories.

This study examines the nature of perceived needs of women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and their association with social demographic characteristics and self-reported mental health symptoms. The study uses data from case records of women victims of IPV (n = 154) seeking help from a victim assistance program housed within city police station located in the southwest, United States. The majority of the women in this study reported needs related to counseling, protection orders, Crime Victims' Compensation Rights, legal services, and Temporary Aid for Needy Families. Findings also indicate that perceived needs of women were significantly associated with self-reported mental health symptoms. Some needs had a stronger relationship to women's mental health symptoms than others. Overall these findings suggest that it is imperative to emphasize responses that can address all the needs of women (in addition to stopping IPV) to reduce mental health symptoms.

A growing literature has documented that negative social reactions to disclosures of sexual and intimate partner violence (IPV), such as victim blaming or disbelief, can negatively affect survivors’ recovery. However, despite growing recognition of the frequency of unwanted pursuit behaviors (UPBs; for example, stalking, excessive or threatening contact) following romantic relationships and their negative effects on survivors, research to date has not explored disclosures, social reactions, or their impacts among victims of UPBs. The purpose of the present study was to assess the frequency of disclosures of UPB victimization to various sources, social reactions received, and their associations with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among a sample of 318 undergraduate women (ages 18-24) who reported a breakup within the past 3 years, 59.7% ( n =190) reported experiencing UPBs. Nearly all of the women (92.6%; n =176) who experienced UPBs disclosed their victimization to others. Among women who disclosed, the most frequent recipient of disclosure was a female friend (93.2%, n = 164) and women reported receiving higher mean positive than negative social reactions ( p < .001). Results supported the hypothesized indirect effect of UPB victimization on PTSD symptoms through increases in negative social reactions ( p < .001); these results suggest that negative social reactions to UPB victimization may increase the risk for PTSD symptomatology. By contrast, there was no indirect effect via positive social reactions ( p = .205). Implications for research and clinical practice will be discussed.

OBJECTIVE: College women are at high risk for sexual assault, especially women with a history of sexual victimization. The present study uses a longitudinal design to explore the role of sexual assertiveness, psychological barriers to resistance, and resistance self-efficacy as putative mediators between prior sexual victimization and sexual revictimization among a sample of 296 college women. METHOD: Women completed assessments of sexual victimization since the age of 14, as well as putative mediator variables at a baseline assessment. Sexual revictimization was assessed over a 7-month interim. RESULTS: Results of structural equation modeling indicated that the relationship between baseline and follow-up sexual assault was mediated by the study variables. Follow-up analyses suggested that sexual assertiveness served as a particularly salient mediator. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increasing women's sexual assertiveness skills may be a particularly important component of reducing risk for sexual revictimization among women with a history of assault. ©2016 American Psychological Association Language: en

OBJECTIVE: Social norms approaches to sexual assault prevention have proliferated despite a dearth of empirical evidence for the tenets of social norms theory as it relates to sexual assault. Whereas previous research has found that men's perceptions of peer aggression influence their perpetration of sexual assault, previous research has not assessed the extent to which men's perceptions are accurate about their close peers. METHOD: Undergraduate men (N = 100) from the psychology participant pool completed surveys along with a close friend (N = 100); the concordance in their beliefs about rape and attitudes toward women as well as reported sexually aggressive behaviors was assessed. RESULTS: Men's own beliefs about rape and attitudes about women were correlated with both their perceptions of their friends' and of the average college male's beliefs, but not with their friends' actual reported beliefs; men's perceptions of their friends' beliefs about rape and attitudes toward women were uncorrelated with their friends' actual reported beliefs as well. Perpetrators of sexual assault were significantly more likely to overestimate their friends' involvement in sexually aggressive behaviors than were nonperpetrators. The order of measures presented was unrelated to endorsement of any of the variables of interest. CONCLUSIONS: Perpetrators of sexual assault hold inaccurate beliefs about their peers' sexually aggressive attitudes and behaviors, which can be targeted in prevention programming. Such programming should provide more accurate descriptive (e.g., rates of sexual assault among men) as well as injunctive norms (i.e., rates of men's approval or disapproval of attitudes and beliefs) to combat pluralistic ignorance and the false consensus effect. Language: en

Approximately 60% of legally defined rape victims do not label their experiences as “rape,” most of whom label the experience as “a serious miscommunication.” However, little research has examined why women choose this label. Labeling rape as a miscommunication could be problematic if chosen due to stereotypical conceptions that one’s experience is not “real” rape. The present study used a mixed-methodological approach to understand why women might refer to rape as a “miscommunication,” and how their reasons for labeling might differ from those who label their experiences and those who are nonlabeled (i.e., unequivocally state that they were “not victimized”). Participants included 123 undergraduate women who experienced rape. Participants responded to how they labeled rape and answered questions regarding assault characteristics, disclosure, reporting, and self- and perpetrator blame. Chi-square analyses assessed labeling group differences. Responses to an open-ended question about factors contributing to their labeling decision were content analyzed. Whereas miscommunication-labeled and nonlabeled victims reported similar assault characteristics in the quantitative analyses, qualitative content analyses revealed varying reasons for labeling rape as miscommunication, not victimization, and rape. Over three quarters of miscommunication-labeled victims reported that one or more of the following factors influenced their labeling: victim and perpetrator substance use, sexual activity prior to the rape, and perceptions that one did not express nonconsent strongly enough and that the perpetrator “did not realize” their lack of desire. Whereas miscommunication-labeled and nonlabeled victims reported similar assault characteristics, the extent to which those assault characteristics affected their labeling differed. Those who labeled their experiences as miscommunication gave reasons for their label that centered on factors which reflect inconsistencies between their experiences and “stereotypical rape.” Misperceptions of rape can be addressed via prevention programming and clinical work.

Previous research has examined the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization experiences and investment model variables, particularly with relation to leaving intentions. However, research only has begun to explore the impact that various dyadic patterns of IPV (i.e., unidirectional victimization, unidirectional perpetration, bidirectional violence, and non-violence) have on investment model variables. Grounded in behavioral principles, the current study used a sample of college women to assess the impact that perpetration and victimization have on investment model variables. Results indicated that 69.2% of the sample was in a relationship with no IPV. Among those who reported IPV in their relationships, 11.9% reported unidirectional perpetration, 10.6% bidirectional violence, and 7.4% unidirectional victimization. Overall, the findings suggest that women’s victimization (i.e., victim only and bidirectional IPV) is associated with lower levels of satisfaction and commitment, and that women’s perpetration (i.e., perpetration only and bidirectional IPV) is associated with higher levels of investment. Women in bidirectionally violent relationships reported higher quality alternatives than women in non-violent relationships. The current study emphasizes the importance of considering both IPV perpetration and IPV victimization experiences when exploring women’s decisions to remain in relationships.

The present study describes the 4- and 7-month postintervention outcomes of a sexual assault risk reduction program for women, which was part of an evaluation that included a prevention program for men. Relative to the control group, participants evidenced more relational sexual assertiveness and self-protective behavior, and were more likely to indicate that they utilized active verbal and physical self-defense strategies. Whether or not women experienced subsequent victimization did not differ between groups. Relative to control group women who were victimized, program participants who were victimized between the 4- and 7-month follow-up blamed the perpetrator more and evidenced less self-blame.

The goal of this study was to examine young adult women’s motives for engaging in psychological, physical, and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants were 484 college women in relationships who had engaged in at least 1 form of psychological, physical, or sexual IPV perpetration. Women who reported engaging in psychological and physical IPV typically reported motives of anger, retaliation for being hit first or for emotional hurt, and an inability to express themselves verbally, whereas women who reported sexual IPV perpetration reported motives of sexual arousal, to prove love, and a loss of control. These results suggest that women engage in psychological and physical perpetration for many of the same reasons and that women’s motives for sexual perpetration are somewhat different. These findings have implications for the ways in which interventions are tailored, suggesting that there are likely important factors that need to be addressed for all types of IPV (e.g., emotion dysregulation), and some types of IPV (e.g., sexual) might require tailored prevention and intervention efforts (e.g., education about appropriate ways of expressing sexual arousal and love). These findings also underscore the importance of investigating multiple forms of perpetration when studying motives for IPV and the relevance of motives in the development of IPV prevention programming with young women.

Research has demonstrated that interpersonal weight-related pressures and criticisms are related to body dissatisfaction among college women. Further, research has suggested that romantic partners, in comparison to family and peers, play an increasingly important role in college women’s body dissatisfaction. However, research has been inconsistent on the roles that these sources of interpersonal weight-related pressure and criticism play in college women’s body dissatisfaction. The influence of romantic partners on college women’s body dissatisfaction is important to examine given that college women are developmentally at a time in their lives where issues related to romantic relationships become more salient. Even more, understanding of the influences on college women’s body dissatisfaction and resultant disordered eating is critical so that effective prevention and intervention efforts can be developed. Thus, this study examined the influence of family, peer, romantic partner, media weight-related pressures and criticisms on body dissatisfaction and resultant disordered eating (i.e., dieting and bulimic behaviors) among college women. Participants included undergraduate college women (N = 246) recruited from introductory psychology courses from a mid-sized U.S. Midwestern university. Women completed paper and pencil surveys for course credit. Path analytic results demonstrated that partner and media pressures were related to internalization of the thin ideal, and that family, peer, and media pressures along with internalization of the thin ideal were related to body dissatisfaction. Moreover, body dissatisfaction was related to maladaptive dieting and bulimic behaviors. Prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the impact of various forms of weight-related pressure, especially the media, appear crucial.

The purpose of the current study was to build on the existing literature to better understand young women’s leaving processes in abusive dating relationships using a prospective design. Two social psychological models—the investment model and theory of planned behavior—were tested. According to the investment model, relationship continuation is predicted by commitment, which is a function of investment, satisfaction, and low quality of alternatives. The theory of planned behavior asserts that a specific behavior is predicted by an individual’s intention to use a behavior, which is a function of the individual’s attitudes toward the behavior, the subjective norms toward the behavior, and the individual’s perceived behavioral control over the behavior. College women ( N = 169 young women in abusive relatinships) completed surveys at two time points, approximately 4 months apart, to assess initially for the presence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a current relationship and investment model and theory of planned behavior variables; the purpose of the 4-month follow-up session was to determine if women had remained in or terminated their abusive relationship. Path analytic results demonstrated that both the theory of planned behavior and investment models were good fits to the data in prospectively predicting abused women’s stay/leave decisions. However, the theory of planned behavior was a better fit to the data than the investment model. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

OBJECTIVE: To explore reactions to participation in research concerning dating violence (DV) within women's current relationships and how study participation influenced women's thoughts toward their current partners and relationships. METHODS: Mixed-methodological study with 940 college women, including closed-ended survey questions and an open-ended question inquiring about participants' reactions to research participation. RESULTS: Women generally reported low levels of emotional reactions to research participation, moderate levels of personal benefits to research participation, and a small to moderate percentage of participants reported shifting reactions toward their partners and relationships. In general, the presence of DV experiences (victimization more consistently than perpetration), lower relationship commitment and satisfaction, and higher posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms were related to lower levels of feeling more positive about one's relationship or partner as a result of research participation and higher levels of the following: emotional reactions to research participation, personal benefits to research participation, feeling negative toward and afraid of one's partner as a result of research participation, and thinking about ending the relationship as a result of research participation. Qualitative coding of women's open-ended responses was consistent with quantitative findings and provided additional details on how and why (e.g., insight, validation, and normalization) the study affected women's perceptions of their partners and relationships. Qualitative analyses also underscored the likely minimization and normalization of DV, some of which seemed to be related to research participation. CONCLUSION: The finding that this research was generally well-tolerated by participants is reassuring to those committed to the scientific study of DV and can be used to assuage concerns of institutional review boards.

The purpose of this study was to utilize a mixed methodological approach to better understand the co-occurrence of perpetrator tactics and women’s resistance strategies during a sexual assault and women’s reflections on these experiences. College women were recruited from introductory psychology courses and completed both forced-choice response and open-ended survey questions for course credit. Content-analytic results of college women’s written responses to an open-ended question suggested that women’s resistance strategies generally mirrored the tactics of the perpetrator (e.g., women responded to perpetrator verbal pressure with verbal resistance). However, there were some instances in which this was not the case. Furthermore, a number of women expressed a degree of self-blame for the sexual assault in their responses, as well as minimization and normalization of the experience. These findings suggest that sexual assault risk reduction programs need to directly address victims’ self-blame as well as create an atmosphere where societal factors that lead to minimization can be addressed.

Despite high rates of sexual assault among college women, most victims do not label the experience as sexual assault or rape. Prior research examining labeling of sexual victimization has focused on women’s characterization of rape experiences as either not victimization or victimization. This study extends prior research by exploring factors associated with labeling various forms of sexual victimization as “not victimization,” a “serious miscommunication,” or a “sexual assault, date rape, rape, or crime.” A sample of 1,060 college women reported on their experiences of sexual victimization since the age of 14 years. Women who reported experiences of prior sexual victimization (n = 371) indicated their level of acquaintance with the assailant, assault disclosure, substance use at time of assault, attributions of self- and perpetrator-blame for the assault, and labeling of the experience. Most women who reported experiences of sexual victimization did not self-identify as victims, and 38% labeled sexual victimization as a serious miscommunication. Greater acquaintance with the perpetrator, higher behavioral self-blame, and victim substance use at the time of the assault were associated with labeling sexual assault experiences as a serious miscommunication. Implications are discussed.

This article examines the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, health behaviors (eg, sleep, eating, and exercise), and physical health.Participants included 441 college women.Women completed self-report surveys at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. The study was conducted over 5 academic quarters from fall 2008 to fall 2010.Findings indicated that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were related to healthier eating practices, better quality of sleep, and better physical health. Dispositional mindfulness contributed to better physical health even after controlling for traditional health habits. Finally, bidirectional mediational relationships were found between healthy eating and dispositional mindfulness as well as between sleep quality and dispositional mindfulness when physical health was the outcome variable.Findings suggest that incorporating mindfulness training into programming on college campuses may be beneficial, as results indicate that dispositional mindfulness is related to positive physical health among college students.

The researchers utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to examine college women’s disclosure of dating violence. Quantitative analyses showed that disclosure of dating violence was related to stress associated with abuse, partner blame, and thoughts about ending the relationship. Qualitative content analyses demonstrated that women’s minimization of the abuse was the most commonly given reason for nondisclosure. Women who disclosed dating violence reported that the following responses to their disclosures were most helpful: receiving ‘good advice’, the opportunity to vent/talk about it, receiving comfort and other emotional support, rationalizing the partners’ behavior, and providing a neutral perspective. Conversely, the following responses were reported as least helpful: being told to end the relationship, not understanding, joking about the experiences, and ‘bad advice’. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

Objective: This study assessed the process of leaving an abusive dating relationship utilizing a qualitative design. Methods: Participants included 123 college women in abusive dating relationships who participated at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. Results: Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze the transcribed responses to an open-ended question about women's leaving processes over the interim period. A variety of categories and themes emerged for women in different stages of the leaving process, consistent with the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Investment Model. Data also underscored women's lack of acknowledgment, minimization, and normalization of abuse. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the importance of dating violence intervention and prevention programming on college campuses and offer information that may be useful to college health providers who assist women in abusive dating relationships.

The researchers assessed the predictors of victim–perpetrator relationship stability following a sexual assault. Participants included 254 women sexually assaulted by a friend, casual dating partner, or steady dating partner. Results suggested that most victim–perpetrator relationships (75%) continued following the sexual assault. Greater trauma symptomatology, less perpetrator blame, and nondisclosure of the assault by victims predicted relationship continuation with the perpetrator. Additionally, the odds of continuing the relationship were greater following acts of sexual coercion than following acts of completed rape. Close relationships (steady dating partner) were more likely to continue following the sexual assault than less close relationships (friends and casual dating partners). Unexpectedly, the odds of relationship stability were greater for women without histories of childhood sexual abuse than women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

The current study examined college women’s perceptions of the positive and negative socioemotional consequences associated with engaging in self-protective behaviors to reduce risk for sexual victimization. At baseline, women completed assessments of the extent to which they would experience positive or negative socioemotional consequences as a result of engaging in various self-protective behaviors. At a 2-month follow-up, women reported on their engagement in self-protective behaviors and experience of sexual victimization over the interim ( N = 143). At baseline, some self-protective strategies were perceived as having more positive or negative socioemotional consequences than others. Perceiving a high level of negative socioemotional consequences associated with taking precautions prior to a date was associated with sexual victimization over the 2-month follow-up.

Research suggests that many sexual assault survivors do not disclose their experience, which may increase associated distress. Pennebaker's emotional disclosure paradigm has been shown to ameliorate psychological and physical distress in individuals exposed to stressful events. The current study assessed the effectiveness of this paradigm with sexual assault survivors (N = 74). College women with a history of sexual assault wrote about their most severe victimization or about how they spend their time (control). Then 73 women (98.6%) completed a 1-month follow-up assessment. Results indicated that across writing sessions, the disclosure group reported greater reductions in negative mood immediately post-writing. However, both groups showed significant reductions in physical complaints, psychological distress, and traumatic stress symptoms at the 1-month follow-up, suggesting no added benefit to disclosure of a sexual assault using a brief written paradigm.

The current study prospectively examined the longitudinal relationships between binge drinking behavior and rape experiences among a multisite sample of college women with a history of prior attempted or completed rape ( N = 228). Rates of binge drinking among this high-risk sample were high. Prospective analyses indicated that binge drinking significantly increased risk for subsequent rape. Monthly binge drinkers were significantly more likely to experience alcohol-involved rape than forcible rape at follow-up. Only prior binge drinking, and not type of rape experience, predicted subsequent binge drinking. Findings have direct implications for targeted programming addressing combined risks for binge drinking and rape among college women.

The present study examined college women's likelihood to report sexual victimization to the police, a friend, the counseling center, their resident advisor, or on a survey (N = 300). In comparison to other forms of reporting, women perceived themselves to be most likely to report victimization on a survey. Women also indicated a higher likelihood to report to friends rather than to other agencies. Likelihood to report on a survey did not vary as a function of history of sexual victimization; however, women with a victimization history indicated a lower likelihood to report to all agencies compared to women without a victimization history. Correlates of women's likelihood to report were also documented.

Despite growing evidence suggesting that women engage in verbal and physical dating aggression, there is a dearth of research examining the predictors of women's engagement in these behaviors. Util...

This study assessed college women's reactions to participating in sexual assault research. Women with sexual victimization histories reported more negative emotional reactions than nonvictimized women, but also greater benefits. Benefits to research participation outweighed costs for both women with and without sexual victimization histories. Women with and without sexual victimization histories evidenced significant improvements in several domains of mood over the course of the study, although victimized women improved less in several areas of mood. Participants' presurvey mood, assault severity, perpetrator aggression, self-blame, and perceived benefits to research participation all uniquely predicted participants' immediate negative emotional reactions to the research protocol. Descriptive analyses showed that only a small number of women reported negative emotional reactions to the research protocol.

The current study extends the development and evaluation of an existing and previously evaluated sexual assault risk reduction program with a self-defense component for college women ( N = 300). The program protocol was revised to address psychological barriers to responding assertively to risky dating situations, and a placebo-control group was utilized rather than a wait-list control group. Relative to the placebo-control group, the program was effective in increasing levels of self-protective behaviors, self-efficacy in resisting against potential attackers, and use of assertive sexual communication over a 4-month interim. Results also suggested reduction of incidence of rape among program participants over the 2-month follow-up. Implications for future development and evaluation of sexual assault risk reduction programming are presented.

Using a mixed methodology, the present study compared men’s and women’s perceived benefits and emotional reactions with participating in research that inquired about child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration. Participants consisted of 703 college students (357 women, 346 men), ages 18 to 25 who reported on their childhood maltreatment, adolescent and adult IPV victimization and perpetration, and their reactions (perceived benefits and emotional effects) to participating. Participants’ reactions to participating were assessed using quantitative scales, as well as open-ended written responses that were content coded by researchers. Women reported more personal benefits from research, whereas men and women reported similar levels of emotional reactions to research participation. Furthermore, greater frequencies of child maltreatment and IPV victimization were related to higher levels of emotional reactions. Common self-identified reasons for emotional reactions (e.g., not liking to think about abuse in general, personal victimization experiences) and benefits (e.g., reflection and awareness about oneself, learning about IPV) were also presented and analyzed. These data underscore the importance of future research that examines the behavioral impact of research participation utilizing longitudinal and in-depth qualitative methodologies. Findings also highlight the potential psychoeducational value of research on understanding the reasons underlying participants’ benefits and emotional effects.

Bystander intervention is receiving increased attention as a potential sexual violence prevention strategy, especially to address campus sexual assault. Rather than focusing on potential perpetrators or victims, the bystander approach engages all members of a community to take action. A growing body of evaluative work demonstrates that bystander intervention education programs yield increased positive attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence and greater willingness to intervene in pro-social ways. Future program outcome studies, however, would benefit from more refined measures of bystander action as it is a key variable that prevention education programs attempt to influence. The purpose of the current article is to present key issues, identified by four different research teams, on the measurement of bystander behavior related to sexual violence in the context of college campuses. Comparisons among the methods are made to suggest both lessons learned and new directions for bystander behavior measurement using self-report surveys in program evaluation.

Preliminary evidence underscores links between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization. However, little is known about whether ADHD symptoms are uniquely associated with IPV perpetration and victimization beyond well-established risk factors of IPV commonly associated with the disorder. In a cross-sectional design, 433 college students rated their ADHD symptoms as well as frequencies of psychological and physical IPV perpetration and victimization. Additional risk factors of IPV included childhood maltreatment, primary psychopathy, alcohol abuse, and illicit drug use. Correlational analyses indicated that students with greater ADHD symptom severity reported higher rates of psychological and physical IPV perpetration, and higher rates of psychological IPV victimization. Regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptoms were not additive risk factors of psychological IPV perpetration and victimization. Students reporting any alcohol abuse or illicit drug use endorsed high rates of psychological IPV perpetration and victimization, regardless of their level of ADHD symptoms. However, students who reported no alcohol abuse or drug use, but did report greater ADHD symptom severity—particularly inattention, indicated higher rates of psychological IPV perpetration and victimization than those reporting no alcohol abuse or drug use and low ADHD symptoms. These findings extend prior research by indicating that alcohol abuse and illicit drug use moderate associations between ADHD symptoms and psychological IPV perpetration and victimization. Investigations are needed to identify mechanisms of the association between ADHD symptoms and IPV perpetration and victimization, particularly those abusing alcohol and drugs, for appropriate prevention and intervention efforts to be developed.

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.

This article reviews empirical and theoretical studies that examined the relationship between risk perception and sexual victimization in women. Studies examining women's general perceptions of risk for sexual assault as well as their ability to identify and respond to threat in specific situations are reviewed. Theoretical discussions of the optimistic bias and cognitive–ecological models of risk recognition are discussed in order to account for findings in the literature. Implications for interventions with women as well as recommendations for future research are provided.

The majority of studies evaluating the relationship between childhood sexual assault and subsequent sexual assault perpetration by men have been conducted retrospectively and with incarcerated populations. The present study seeks to improve on previous research by prospectively investigating the relationship between childhood sexual assault and subsequent perpetration of dating violence in adulthood in men. Although there is a significant relationship between childhood sexual abuse and history of sexual assault perpetration at baseline, prospective analyses indicate that childhood sexual assault is not predictive of perpetration during the follow-up period. The role of family factors, including parental conflict resolution, is implicated in subsequent sexual aggression. These results are supportive of the idea that the effects of childhood sexual abuse may be mediated by a variety of factors.

The purpose of the current study was to utilize a prospective methodology to better understand the extent to which women report stalking behaviors perpetrated by their abusive ex-partners and how these stalking experiences affect women’s psychological adjustment. Participants included 56 college women who completed measures of partner abuse and psychological adjustment prior to and after terminating an abusive dating relationship. A little over half of the women (51.8%) reported some type of stalking victimization following the termination of the abusive relationship. After controlling for baseline levels of psychological distress and partner abuse variables, experiences of post-relationship stalking victimization predicted greater levels of posttraumatic stress symptomatology and interpersonal sensitivity, whereas post-relationship stalking victimization was unrelated to depression and personal empowerment.

Little research has examined the relationship between women’s labeling of their sexual assault experiences and sexual functioning, as well as identification of variables that may mediate the labeling-trauma outcome relationship. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap in the literature, by examining the potential mediating role of coping strategies in response to sexual assault in the relationship between labeling and sexual functioning. The sample included 135 college women with a history of adolescent/early adulthood sexual assault. Labeling was not bivariately related to sexual functioning outcomes; however, anxious coping mediated the relationships between labeling and both sexual lubrication and sexual satisfaction. This suggests that correlational analyses between labeling and trauma outcomes may not capture the complexity of this relationship, as it may be more indirect. Furthermore, results suggest that labeling is part of the coping process in response to sexual assault; some women who consider their experience to be sexual assault may engage in anxious coping efforts, contributing to difficulties with sexual lubrication and sexual dissatisfaction. Victims actively working to integrate their sexual assault experience with prior beliefs and self-concept may benefit from treatment focused on decreasing anxious coping, especially as it relates to sexual functioning.

There remains resistance to feminist self-defense and resistance training programming for women, despite (a) documented effectiveness of rape resistance strategies in avoiding rape, (b) consistently high rates of sexual victimization on college campuses, and (c) limited evidence of lasting change in sexual assault perpetration reduction within existing men’s prevention programs. The current article seeks to discuss (1) the rationale for feminist self-defense and resistance training for women, (2) key components of feminist self-defense and resistance training, (3) barriers to its implementation, (4) outcomes of self-defense and resistance training programming, and (5) recommendations for future work. Such suggestions include increasing funding for large-scale self-defense and rape resistance outcome research to examine program effectiveness. Specifically, outcome research that examines the role of contextual factors (e.g., alcohol use) and women’s victimization histories is needed. Finally, self-defense training and resistance training should be combined with bystander intervention and men’s programs with the goal of providing synergistic effects on rape reduction.

Conducted a meta-analytic evaluation of the effectiveness of school-based child abuse prevention programs. Literature searches identified 27 studies meeting inclusion criteria for use in this meta-analysis. The average effect size for all programs studied was 1.07, indicating that children who participated in prevention programs performed 1.07 SD higher than control group children on the outcome measures used in the studies. Analysis of moderator variables revealed significant effects for age, number of sessions, participant involvement, type of outcome measure, and use of behavioral skills training. Most important, programs presented over 4 or more sessions that allowed children to become physically involved produced the highest effect sizes. Although most often used only with younger children, findings suggest that active, long-term programs may be more effective for children of all ages.

The purpose of this investigation was to design and empirically evaluate a program designed to reduce women's risk of multiple sexual victimization. Participants in this study were 406 college women. At the beginning of the academic quarter, participants responded to survey instruments assessing history of sexual assault, dating behaviors, sexual communication, and knowledge about sexual assault. After responding to survey instruments, women in the treatment group participated in the program. Women in the control group did not participate in the program. Participants returned at the end of the academic quarter and responded to survey instruments again. Results suggest that the program was ineffective in reducing the incidence of sexual assault among participants. In addition, the program did not significantly affect dating behaviors, sexual communication, or knowledge about sexual assault. Furthermore, the ineffectiveness of the program in these areas did not appear to be related to participants' histories of sexual victimization.

College students’ responses to a hypothetical sexual assault scenario involving alcohol use by the victim and/or perpetrator were examined (N = 295). Participants reported on victim/perpetrator responsibility, the extent to which the scenario would be considered rape, and their likelihood of providing positive or negative responses to the victim. Compared to women, men indicated that they would provide more negative and less positive social reactions to the victim, were less likely to identify the scenario as rape, and endorsed less perpetrator responsibility. When the victim was drinking, participants endorsed greater victim responsibility and lower perpetrator responsibility for the assault. Participants indicated that they would provide the victim with less emotional support when only the perpetrator was drinking, compared to when both the individuals were drinking.

This study assessed abused and nonabused women's perceptions of Investment Model (IM) variables (ie, relationship investment, satisfaction, commitment, quality of alternatives) utilizing a mixed-methods design.Participants included 102 college women, approximately half of whom were in abusive dating relationships.Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze transcribed responses to open-ended questions about abused and nonabused women's perceptions of IM variables. These coding categories were compared with a quantitative measure of IM variables.Overall, abused and nonabused women were not found to differ on qualitative or quantitative measures with regard to overall level of commitment, investment, or perceived alternatives to their relationships. However, abused women reported lower levels of satisfaction, and listed more negative aspects of their relationships than nonabused women. Additionally, a number of factors were identified by women to affect their perceptions of these IM variables.Victims of dating violence may minimize the abuse sustained in efforts to maintain their relationships. Alternatively, dissonance between the positive and negative aspects of the relationships may drive ambivalence about leaving relationships, all of which could be addressed in dating violence prevention and intervention programming on campuses.

Investigators of sexual assault have found that a substantial number of women who have been raped do not conceptualize their experiences as such. The present investigation examined differences between 40 unacknowledged rape victims and 20 women who acknowledged their experience as rape in a sample of college women, as well as a control group of 23 nonvictims. Groups were compared in terms of situational factors, postassault symptomatology, defense mechanisms, dissociative disorders, and sexual revictimization. In comparison to unacknowledged victims, acknowledged victims reported more forceful assaults and indicated more resistance and clearer refusal. Acknowledged victims exhibited more posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms than unacknowledged victims, who exhibited more symptoms than nonvictims, as measured by clinical interview. Implications of these findings are discussed.

This study assessed women’s immediate and long-term reactions to completing self-report measures of interpersonal violence. College women completed surveys at the beginning and end of a 2-month academic quarter for course credit. Results showed that 7.7% of participants experienced immediate negative emotional reactions to research participation. Greater immediate negative reactions were related to interpersonal victimization and psychological distress variables. Attrition from the study over the 2-month follow-up was not predicted by participants’ immediate negative emotional reactions to the research or anticipation of future distress. Of the participants who returned for the follow-up, 2.1% of participants reported experiencing distress over the interim period as a result of their initial participation in the study. These long-term reactions were bivariately related to a number of victimization, psychological distress, and reaction variables measured at the first study session. However, in the regression analyses, only immediate negative emotional reactions to the research and anticipation of future distress predicted long-term negative emotional reactions.

Previous research suggests that posttraumatic stress symptomatology is a partial mediator of the relationship between sexual assault history in adolescence/adulthood and physical health symptomatology (e.g., Eadie, Runtz, & Spencer-Rodgers, 2008). The current study assessed a broader, more inclusive potential mediator, trauma-related symptoms in the relationship between sexual victimization history (including both childhood and adolescent/adulthood sexual victimizations) and physical health symptomatology in a college sample. Participants were 970 young women (M = 18.69, SD = 1.01), who identified mostly as Caucasian (86.7%), from 2 universities who completed a survey packet. Path analysis results provide evidence for trauma-related symptoms as a mediator in the relationship between adolescent/adulthood sexual assault and physical health symptomatology, χ(2) (1, N = 970) = 1.55, p = .21; comparative fit index = 1.00; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.99; root mean square error of approximation = .02, 90% confidence interval [.00, .09], Bollen-Stine bootstrap statistic, p = .29. Childhood sexual abuse was not related to physical health symptomatology, but did predict trauma-related symptoms. Implications of these findings suggest that college health services would benefit from targeted integration of psychiatric and medical services for sexual assault survivors given the overlap of psychological and physical symptoms. Language: en

Men and women living in randomly selected 1st-year dormitories participated in tailored single-sex sexual assault prevention or risk-reduction programs, respectively. An evaluation of the men’s project is presented ( N = 635). The program incorporated social norms and bystander intervention education and had an impact on self-reported sexual aggression and an effect on men’s perceptions that their peers would intervene when they encountered inappropriate behavior in others. Relative to the control group, participants also reported less reinforcement for engaging in sexually aggressive behavior, reported fewer associations with sexually aggressive peers, and indicated less exposure to sexually explicit media.

The current study followed women who participated in a sexual assault risk reduction program and a wait-list control group for 4 months. Those women in both groups who reported being revictimized ( N = 147) were assessed to determine the effect of program participation on psychological distress. Intervention group participants reported a significant reduction in both psychological distress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at follow-up relative to wait-list control participants, even after controlling for frequency of revictimization. Significantly fewer intervention participants met criteria for PTSD from Time 1 to Time 2. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated frequency and severity of victimization and behavioral and characterological self-blame, and use of avoidance coping explained a significant amount of the variance in distress following revictimization. Implications for future research and risk reduction programs are discussed.

This reprinted article originally appeared in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 77, (No. 2), 361–366. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-03774-017). Although script theory has been applied to sexual assault (e.g., H. Frith & C. Kitzinger, 2001; A. S. Kahn, V. A. Andreoli Mathie, & C. Torgler, 1994), women's scripts of rape have not been examined in relation to predicting sexual victimization experiences. The purpose of the current study was to examine how elements of women's sexual assault scripts predicted their sexual assault experiences over a follow-up period. The authors used data from a baseline and follow-up session for 339 undergraduate women. The results suggest that women who constructed narratives containing certain elements were more likely to report a sexual assault over the academic quarter. Specifically, narratives containing the woman utilizing nonforceful resistance, the woman having less control over the outcome of the situation, the assault happening outdoors, the assault being more severe, and the woman having known the perpetrator less time were predictive of reported sexual victimization over the 8-week follow-up period. Additionally, having a history of adolescent sexual victimization was also predictive of reported sexual victimization over the quarter. These findings have important implications in sexual assault risk-reduction programming, which are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Several multivariate studies have attempted to delineate the major predictors of longterm, sexual assault-induced aftereffects. The present study was an attempt to extend previous work by supplementing known preassault, assault, and postassault predictors of trauma with cognitive measures. The data were cross-sectional and included responses from 1,213 victims of sexual assault who were recruited from a national sample of higher education students. Utilizing hierarchical multiple regression analyses and a cross-validation procedure, the results suggested that the prior mental status of the victims, the forcefulness of the assaults, as well as two cognitive variables related to a victim’s beliefs about sex and relationships predicted victims’ scores on standardized measures of anxiety and depression. The relationships were such that the most traumatized victims were those women who had evidenced a history of mental health problems, who had experienced the more aggressive assaults, who tended to believe that people in relationships are not trustworthy, and tended to place conservative restrictions on the sexual acts and circumstances under which sex should occur. Taken together these variables accounted for between 9%-14% of the variance in sexual assault aftereffects. The discussion emphasizes the contribution of cognitive processes to the understanding of sexual assault trauma.

The present study prospectively explored the predictors of resistance strategies to a sexual assault situation. Participants were assessed at the beginning of an academic quarter on a number of variables, including past history of sexual victimization, perceived risk of sexual victimization, and intentions to use specific types of resistance strategies. Only women who reported being victimized over the interim ( N = 68) were included in the analyses, which suggested that women's Time 1 intentions to utilize assertive resistance strategies (e.g., physically fight, run away) and offender aggression predicted women's use of assertive resistance strategies in response to the assault that occurred over the follow-up. Women's utilization of nonforceful verbal resistance (e.g., reason, plead, quarrel) was predicted by perpetrator aggression and previous sexual victimization. Women's immobility (e.g., turn cold, freeze) during the assault that took place over the interim was predicted by experiences of childhood sexual victimization and previous sexual victimization.