SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS' ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATUS AND REVICTIMIZATION RISK

How a victim of rape characterizes her assault has potential implications for her postassault experiences and revictimization risk. Prior research has identified several potential benefits to not conceptualizing one's experience as a form of victimization. The current study sought to identify whether there are costs to not acknowledging rape as well, specifically whether unacknowledged victims are at elevated risk of revictimization. The revictimization risk behaviors of 334 acknowledged and unacknowledged female college rape victims were compared. Unacknowledged victims reported more hazardous alcohol use and were more likely to report that they continued a relationship with the assailant after the assault. A subsample of 105 victims completed a 6-month follow-up survey regarding sexual victimization during the follow-up period. Unacknowledged victims were nearly twice as likely to report having experienced an attempted rape during the 6-month follow-up period. Implications of the results for future work evaluating rape acknowledgment, rape recovery, and revictimization are discussed.     

LABELING OF ABUSE EXPERIENCES AND RATES OF VICTIMIZATION

Research has consistently found that a history of previous sexual victimization increases risk for future sexual assault, which might be due to women with a history of sexual victimization having difficulty identifying risky cues and not perceiving their own vulnerability for future assaults. This study investigated how acknowledgment of previous experiences with interpersonal violence is related to risk perception and rates of victimization. Participants were 198 college women who completed assessments of victimization, personal risk appraisal, and acknowledgment. Analyses indicated differences in rates of victimization based on labeling of experiences and differences in efforts to change behaviors to reduce risk for future assaults based on level of acknowledgment. Also, there were a number of situational factors significantly related to likelihood of acknowledgment. The findings differed for physical and sexual violence. This study suggests that acknowledgment is an important factor to consider in studies of sexual and physical revictimization.     

The psychophysiological correlates of risk recognition among victims and non-victims of sexual assault

This study examined the psychophysiological correlates of risk recognition in sexual victimization. Victims and non-victims of sexual assault listened to a hypothetical date rape interaction and were asked to indicate the point at which the man had become sexually inappropriate. Subjective and objective (physiology) measures of responding as well as a measure of risk recognition in reaction to the date rape scenario were analyzed to evaluate both between and within-subjects' differences. Results showed that, relative to non-victims, victims of sexual assault displayed significant differences in risk recognition as well as both subjective and objective measures of physiological reactivity. Overall, the results indicate that altered physiological responding to relevant threat cues may be related to individuals' ability to identify and react to threatening sexual situations.     

Sexual victimization in relation to perceptions of risk: mediation, generalization, and temporal stability

There is evidence that personal experience with trauma is associated with increases in both personal and comparative risk perception. This study investigates this relation in terms of sexual victimization among women, focusing on three potential mediators: perceived control over sexual assault, perceived similarity to a typical sexual assault victim, and psychological distress. Mediational analyses were investigated using structural equation modeling. Although victimization experience was not related to comparative risk perception, it was associated with greater personal risk perception. This relation was mediated by perceived similarity to a typical sexual assault victim. Prospective analyses indicated that personal risk perception does change in response to sexual victimization but also indicated that heightened risk perception may be an accurate assessment of risk that actually precedes victimization experience. Implications for the meaning of perceived similarity and perceptions of risk for sexual assault victims are discussed.     

Understanding Sexual Revictimization of Women Through Metaphors: A Qualitative Research

The aim of this study was to contribute to the phenomenological understanding of revictimization through metaphors used by women when describing their revictimization experiences. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews with 9 women regarding their repeated sexual victimization. Content analysis focused on metaphors used by the women when describing revictimization. Analysis of the metaphors revealed vulnerability in relation to the self and to interpersonal relationships. The metaphors relating to the self are portrayed through images of imprisonment, homelessness, contamination, and disability. Interpersonal relationships are described through the image of boundaries. These metaphors reflect duality: the profound need for security and the perception of boundaries as limiting and confining. Metaphors can be useful as a heuristic instrument for understanding women’s experience of the duality and the contradictions in coping with revictimization, and for intervention.     

The ecology of rape victimization: a case study of Buffalo, New York

Official crime report data gathered from the Buffalo Police Department for the year 1975 were used to analyze variations in risk of rape victimization. The ecological structuring of routine activities and the victimogenic factors possessed by rape victims were examined to account for observed differences in risk. The results showed that rape victimization is associated with the routine activities of victims in that women who are highly mobile (working women, students, and younger women in general) are at a much greater risk than women who are less mobile. The risk of rape varies with respect to location within the city, and nonwhite females are victimized more than their white female counterparts. Differential risk of rape victimization was accounted for by the routine activities of victims. Rape victimization requires the convergence in space and time of likely offenders, suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians for preventing rape.     

Susceptibility to sexual victimization and women’s mating strategies

Women show stable individual differences in mating strategies ranging from short-term to long-term. Short-term mating strategies may put women at greater risk of sexual victimization through increased exposure to risky situations or to men most inclined to pursue a strategy of sexual coercion. To test these predictions, we studied female college students who had experienced a completed rape, an attempted sexual victimization, or no sexual victimization. Women’s mating strategies were assessed through the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory. Victims further reported whether they engaged in consensual intimate behaviors with their victimizer before or after the victimization. Victims of completed rape scored highest on short-term mating strategy pursuit; non-victims scored lowest; women experiencing attempted victimization scored between these two groups. Victims of completed rape also more frequently reported consensual kissing and intercourse with their victimizer before and after the victimization than women who experienced attempted victimization. The findings of this study should not be interpreted as blaming the victim, but rather as identifying circumstances that put women at greater risk. Clearly, perpetrators are to blame for sexual victimization. Discussion focuses on future research directions and on practical implications for reducing rates of sexual victimization.     

Coping Strategies as Predictors of Distress in Survivors of Single and Multiple Sexual Victimization and Nonvictimized Controls

This study investigated the relationship between coping strategies and distress symptomatology in survivors of sexual revictimization. Coping strategies were assessed with the revised Ways of Coping Scale (Aldwin & Revenson, 1987). Distress symptoms included global distress, depression, anxiety, and somatization. Subjects were 44 survivors of sexual victimization in both childhood and adulthood; 54 survivors of a single incident of sexual victimization in childhood; and 256 nonvictimized individuals. All were drawn from a subject pool of female undergraduate students. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant differences between groups on reported symptomatology and coping strategies. Victimized groups reported more distress than did the nonvictimized group. The multiple victimization group indicated greater use of coping strategies than did the nonvictimized group, and both victimized groups reported greater use of the escapism strategy than did the nonvictimized group. Multiple backward regression analysis found that coping strategies were predictive of distress symptomatology in all three groups, with escapism as the most potent predictor of distress for each group. Coping strategies were the most powerful predictors of distress in the multiply victimized group. The results of this study provide strong support for the importance of addressing coping strategies in clinical intervention of distress, particularly with survivors of multiple sexual victimization.     

THE HIDDEN RAPE VICTIM: PERSONALITY, ATTITUDINAL, AND SITUATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

A hidden rape victim is one who has never reported her experience to a rape crisis center or to police. It has been estimated that only 10–50% of the rapes that actually occur are ever reported to authorities. Since most previous rape studies have selected samples from official sources, hidden victims have been overlooked. The goals of the present study were to describe the victimization experienced by hidden victims and to determine whether any psychological variables were related to victimization status. The psychological variables examined included personality, attitudinal, and situational characteristics relevant to the three major models of rape victimization: social control, victim precipitation, and situational blame. Subjects were 82 not sexually victimized, 37 low sexually victimized, 50 moderately victimized, and 62 highly sexually victimized women. Subjects completed questionnaires and participated in a one-to-one standardized interview. Data were analyzed via multivariate analysis of variance. Personality variables and attitudes did not differentiate the groups of women, while numerous situational variables did. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Prior interpersonal trauma: the contribution to current PTSD symptoms in female rape victims

The purpose of the current study was to disentangle the relationship of childhood sexual abuse and childhood physical abuse from prior adult sexual and physical victimization in predicting current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in recent rape victims. The participants were a community sample of 117 adult rape victims assessed within 1 month of a recent index rape for a history of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, other adult sexual and physical victimization, and current PTSD symptoms. Results from path analyses showed that a history of child sexual abuse seems to increase vulnerability for adult sexual and physical victimization and appears to contribute to current PTSD symptoms within the cumulative context of other adult trauma.     

Testing hypotheses regarding rape: Exposure to sexual violence,sex differences,and the “normality” of rapists

Three hypotheses on the subject of rape were addressed empirically. The first concerns the effects of exposure to sexual violence on reactions to rape. Males and females were first exposed to either a sadomasochistic or a nonviolent version of the same sexual passage and then to a portrayal of rape. Responses to the rape showed interactions between gender and previous exposure: In comparison to males who had read the nonviolent version, males exposed to the sadomasochistic story were more sexually aroused to the rape depiction and more punitive toward the rapist whereas females evidenced differences in the opposite direction. Simple effects analyses for each gender, however, yielded significant differences for the punitiveness measure only and for males only. In addressing the second hypothesis, gender differences were found in the perception of rape. Third, the assertion that rape may be an extension of normal sexual patterns was explored. Subjects were found to believe that a high percentage of men would rape if assured of not being punished and that a substantial percentage of women would enjoy being victimized. While both genders shared these beliefs, very few women believed that they personally would derive pleasure from victimization. Surprisingly, more than half of the males indicated some likelihood that they themselves would rape if assured of not being punished. The association between this self-report and general attitudes toward rape revealed a pattern that bears striking similarity to the callous attitudes often held by convicted rapists.     

COLLEGE WOMEN'S FEARS AND PRECAUTIONARY BEHAVIORS RELATING TO ACQUAINTANCE RAPE AND STRANGER RAPE

Past research on women's fear of rape has focused on women's fears relating to stranger rape, even though most rapes are acquaintance rapes. In this study, 139 undergraduate women completed a questionnaire concerning their fears, precautionary behaviors, and beliefs relating to acquaintance and stranger rape. Women reported being more fearful of rape by strangers than by acquaintances, and they reported engaging in more precautionary behaviors because of fear of stranger rape than of acquaintance rape. When asked to self-generate situations in which they feared rape, they generated more situations in which they feared stranger rape than acquaintance rape. Paradoxically, they estimated that acquaintance rape was more common. Precautionary behaviors were best predicted by level of fear. A history of acquaintance rape had no effect on women's responses. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.     

Ego-Identity Achievement and Perception of Risk in Intimacy in Survivors of Stranger and Acquaintance Rape

One hundred twenty-two women participated in a study of the relationship between acquaintance/stranger rape and the respective variables of ego-identity achievement (attainment of self-image during adolescence that integrates one's ideas of what one is and what one wants to be) and perception of risk in intimacy (perception of close interpersonal relationships as a risky proposition). Results showed that compared to women who had not been sexually assaulted, survivors of rape in general reported lower ego-identity achievement and greater perception of risk in intimacy. Focusing on acquaintance rape and stranger rape with age at the time of assault as possible moderator, it was found that lower ego-identity achievement was systematically related to acquaintance rape in women who had been raped during their adolescent years, but not in survivors of rape during adulthood. Perception of risk in intimacy was significantly higher among women who had been raped when adolescents compared to those who had been raped during adulthood, but only in relation to acquaintance rape.     

RISK FACTORS FOR SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION IN DATING A Longitudinal Study of College Women

In this longitudinal study of college women, nine risk characteristics assessed prior to the start of college were examined in the effort to identify predictors of sexual victimization in college dating. A total of 100 women were followed for 32 months, with information about personal history, behaviors, and attitudes collected at Time 1 and information about subsequent sexual victimization collected at Time 2. Although four risk factors were significantly associated with victimization, a logistic regression analysis revealed that the best prediction model contained only two variables: Precollege sexual victimization in dating was positively correlated with college victimization, and sexual conservatism was negatively correlated with college victimization. Discussion focused on the needs for improved sex education for teenagers, prevention programs aimed at the precollege level, and increased research and clinical attention to the phenomenon of revictimization.     

Psychophysiological Reactivity to Abuse-Related Stimuli in Sexually Revictimized Women

Prior research shows discrepant findings in relation to psychophysiological reactivity to threat in women with histories of sexual victimization. Women ages 18 to 22 (N?=?123) with histories of sexual abuse were categorized into child sexual abuse (CSA), adult sexual victimization, revictimization, or nonvictimization groups. Low- and high-frequency heart rate variability were measured at baseline and during an Emotional Stroop task of abuse-related words. Revictimized women showed a significant decrease from baseline to task in both parasympathetic and sympathetic measures when compared to the CSA group. The CSA group demonstrated chronic sympathetic activation at both baseline and task, relative to the revictimization group. Groups did not differ on performance (i.e., reaction time) on the Emotional Stroop task (i.e., more threatening stimuli, slower performance). Cardiovascular responses reported might point to biological reactivity patterns needed for women with a history of sexual abuse to cope with abuse-related stimuli.     

A critical review of field studies on the link of alcohol and adult sexual assault in women

This article reviews field studies examining two central questions regarding the link between alcohol and sexual assault. First, evidence is reviewed to evaluate whether there is a distal relationship between alcohol and risk of sexual assault victimization. Specifically, studies are examined to determine whether drinking may affect the risk of being victimized and how victimization may contribute to subsequent drinking. Second, evidence for a proximal role of drinking prior to a sexual assault victimization incident (by either victim and/or offender) is examined to determine alcohol's role in rape and injury outcomes to victims. Critical theoretical and methodological issues in these two types of studies are discussed with regard to the extant literature. Paralleling the two areas of research reviewed, two theoretical models are proposed to guide future research on (1) the global associations of drinking and sexual assault risk across the life span (macrolevel model) and (2) the role of drinking in the outcomes of actual sexual assault incidents (microlevel model). Suggestions are made for future research and intervention in this area.     

tolerance of nonconformity and its effect on attitudes toward the legalization of prostitution: a multivariate analysis

An increasingly popular clinical impression is that physical victimization plays an important role in the etiology of bulimia. There are few data based studies, however, which have tested this belief. Therefore, data were collected to determine if those who have been victimized are more apt to be bulimic than those who have not been victimized. The four forms of victimization explored were rape, sexual molestation, child abuse and partner abuse. Only child abuse was statistically significantly related to bulimia in the bivariate analyses, although all relationships were in the predicted direction. In the multivariate analysis, severity of bulimic‐like symptoms was regressed on the four forms of victimization and on nine demographic characteristics. Child abuse was the only form of victimization related to the severity of symptoms, when controlling for the effects of the other variables. Contrary to clinical impressions, the effect of sexual molestation on severity of bulimic symptoms was negative, but not statistically significant. Among the demographic characteristics, only the number of sisters had a significant effect. The combined effect of being both bulimic as well as a victim did not increase the likelihood of seeking therapy for an eating disorder. The need for empirical evidence to verify clinical impressions is stressed.     

Disinhibition as a Mechanism in Sexual Victimization: A Prospective Study

Disinhibition was examined as a mechanism in revictimization using a prospective research design. Of the sample of 211 young adult women, 43.1% reported prior sexual victimization (birth to the time of our initial assessment) and 32.2% reported sexual assault during the 6-month follow-up. The findings suggest that disinhibition was a partial mediator. Prior sexual victimization was associated with increased disinhibition as well as increased future sexual assault. Greater disinhibition was associated with increased future sexual assault. Once disinhibition was accounted for, the original relationship between prior and future sexual assault was reduced. Disinhibition partially explained revictimization and these behaviors might serve as possible targets of change in sexual victimization prevention work.     

Effects of Salience of Consciousness-Raising Information on Perceptions of Acquaintance versus Stranger Rape

In the present study the effects of salience of consciousness-raising information on the perception of acquaintance vs. stranger rape were focused on. One half of the subjects were exposed to information which emphasized the inappropriateness of sexual inequality (salient condition), while the other half were exposed to no such information (nonsalient condition). Subsequently, subjects read a passage which depicted an acquaintance rape or a stranger rape. The results indicated that those subjects in the salient condition perceived the victim more favorable and reported a lesser likelihood to commit rape (male subjects) than those in the nonsalient condition. Additionally, those in the stranger rape condition perceived the victim more favorably and reported a lesser likelihood of committing rape (male subjects) than those in the acquaintance rape condition. Finally, there was a significant interaction between salience and type of rape. To amplify, when subjects read the stranger rape passage, perceptions did not vary as a function of salience. On the other hand, when subjects read the acquaintance rape passage, those in the salient condition perceived the victim more favoraby and reported a lesser likelihood of committing rape than those in the nonsalient condition.