The Role of Reactions to Disclosure in Mental Health Among Survivors of Sexual Assault

2021 ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Amie R. Newins ◽  
Laura C. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Primary Reason ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Social Reactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Psychosocial Difficulties ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Negative Social Reactions

Although services and support have the potential to be helpful, a survivor’s trajectory toward recovery is contingent on the social reactions they receive. Given that fear of negative social reactions is the primary reason that sexual assault survivors delay disclosing or fail to disclose their victimization to others, we review numerous correlates of when and why survivors disclose their assault, typical social reactions survivors receive, the psychosocial impact of social reactions on survivors, and recommendations for ways providers can provide services that are more survivor-centered. Because nondisclosure limits the resources, services, and support available to survivors, it is important to understand what contributes to survivors’ decisions regarding if and when they tell others about their victimization. Furthermore, given the link between negative reactions and psychosocial difficulties, it is important to minimize the potential for a survivor to receive a harmful response from a provider.

Social Reactions, Coping Strategies, and Self-Blame Attributions in Adjustment to Sexual Assault

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Ullman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Self Blame ◽  
Social Reactions ◽  
Assault Victims ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Negative Social Reactions

The present study investigated the impact of social reactions of others to sexual-assault victims on disclosure of their victimization. A convenience sample of adult sexual-assault victims ( N = 155) completed a mail survey in which they reported information about their sexual assaults and postassault experiences. As expected, all negative social reactions were strongly associated with increased psychological symptoms, whereas most positive social reactions were unrelated to adjustment. The only social reactions related to better adjustment were being believed and being listened to by others. Victims experiencing negative social reactions also reported poorer adjustment even when other variables known to affect psychological recovery were controlled. Avoidance coping mediated the association of negative social reactions with adjustment. Implications of these findings for research and treatment of sexual-assault survivors are discussed.

Are Survivors of Sexual Assault Blamed More Than Victims of Other Crimes?

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110374
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Reich ◽  
Grace A. Pegel ◽  
Alixandra B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Physical Assault ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Sexual Assault Survivors ◽  
Social Reactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Trauma Informed

Although victim blaming in the context of sexual assault is often emphasized, little research has compared rates of victim blaming following sexual assault relative to other forms of victimization. This research investigated whether there is a crime-specific bias toward blaming victims of sexual assault. Victim blaming was assessed via different methods from the observer perspective in vignette-based studies, as well as survivors’ accounts of social reactions they received. In Study 1, participants were asked to rate how much the survivor was to blame in three vignettes, each with a different randomized crime outcome: rape, physical assault, or theft. Study 2 assessed blame for a vignette that either ended in rape or theft, via a causal attribution statement. Study 3 asked interpersonal trauma survivors who had experienced at least two forms of victimization (i.e., sexual assault, physical assault, or theft) to report the social reactions they received following disclosure of each of these crimes. Across all three studies, victim blaming occurred following multiple forms of victimization and there was no evidence of a particular bias toward blaming survivors of sexual assault more so than other crimes. However, results of Study 3 highlight that, following sexual assault, survivors receive more silencing and stigmatizing reactions than they experienced after other crimes. Interpersonal traumas (i.e., sexual or physical assault) also resulted in more egocentric responses compared to theft. Altogether, there does not appear to be a crime-specific bias for victim blaming; however, crime-specific bias is apparent for some other, potentially understudied, social reactions. Implications of these findings highlight the value of victim blaming education and prevention efforts through trauma-informed services and outreach following victimization. Furthermore, service providers and advocates might especially seek to recognize and prevent silencing and stigmatizing reactions following sexual assault disclosures.

scholarly journals Culture and psychopathology: An attempt at reconsidering the role of social learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Peter Fonagy ◽  
Chloe Campbell ◽  
Matthew Constantinou ◽  
Anna Higgitt ◽  
Elizabeth Allison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Mental Health Disorder ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Single Model ◽  
Developmental Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
P Factor

Abstract This paper proposes a model for developmental psychopathology that is informed by recent research suggestive of a single model of mental health disorder (the p factor) and seeks to integrate the role of the wider social and cultural environment into our model, which has previously been more narrowly focused on the role of the immediate caregiving context. Informed by recently emerging thinking on the social and culturally driven nature of human cognitive development, the ways in which humans are primed to learn and communicate culture, and a mentalizing perspective on the highly intersubjective nature of our capacity for affect regulation and social functioning, we set out a cultural-developmental approach to psychopathology.

scholarly journals A Preliminary Experimental Examination of the Effect of Emotion Dysregulation and Impulsivity on Risky Behaviors Among Women With Sexual Assault–Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 914-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole H. Weiss ◽  
Matthew T. Tull ◽  
Kim L. Gratz
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Emotion Dysregulation ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
To Receive

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with a wide range of risky behaviors (e.g., substance use and risky sexual behaviors); however, few studies have examined mechanisms that may underlie risky behaviors in this population. The present study utilized a prospective experimental design to examine the effects of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity on risky behaviors across time. Thirty women with sexual assault–related PTSD were randomly assigned to receive emotion modulation (EM), impulsivity reduction (IR), or healthy living (HL; comparison condition) skills trainings. Participants completed measures of emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and risky behaviors pre-manipulation and 1-month post-manipulation. Participants in the EM and IR conditions reported a significant reduction in risky behaviors from pre- to post-manipulation relative to the HL condition. Changes in emotion dysregulation from pre- to post-manipulation fully accounted for reductions in risky behaviors over time. Results provide preliminary experimental support for the role of emotion dysregulation in risky behaviors.

scholarly journals A Short Measure of Social Reactions to Sexual Assault: The Social Reactions Questionnaire-Shortened

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1096-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Ullman ◽  
Mark Relyea ◽  
Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir ◽  
Sidney Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Women Survivors ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Alternative Measure ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Social Reactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

Social reactions to disclosures of sexual assault have significant effects on women’s postassault recovery. However, being the most widely used measure of these reactions, the 48-item Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ; Ullman, 2000) is too long for some research and evaluation efforts. Thus, we developed a 16-item short version, the Social Reactions Questionnaire-Shortened (SRQ-S). Three preexisting college and community samples of women survivors (N = 1,012; 1,084; and 344) were used to determine which SRQ items were most related to psychological symptoms and could form reliable subscales. The brief version was then administered in a college and community sample of 447 women survivors. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) and supporting psychometrics showed the SRQ-S reliably measures three general scales of the SRQ (Turning Against, Unsupportive Acknowledgment, Positive Reactions) as well as eight 2-item subscales (e.g., Blame). The SRQ-S provides researchers and interventionists with a brief alternative measure to the original SRQ.

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