Predicting College Women’s Self-esteem Based on Verbal Coercion Experience and Verbal Tactic Items on the Revised Sexual Experiences Survey

Verbal coercion experience is common among college women and has sometimes been associated with lower self-esteem. The current study examined self-esteem based on the two verbal coercion items included in the latest version of the most popular measure of sexual victimization experience, the Sexual Experiences Survey-Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV; Koss et al., 2007 ). One item includes verbal tactics categorized as “threat” and the other item includes verbal tactics categorized as “criticism.” Undergraduate women ( n = 479) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the SES-SFV. Results showed that women who experienced criticism reported lower self-esteem than those who did not experience criticism. However, threat experience was not significantly related to women’s self-esteem. Findings support Koss et al.’s suggestion that criticism tactics are more negative than threat tactics, and imply that self-esteem may be negatively associated with some sexually coercive verbal tactics but not associated with others. Future researchers should pay careful attention to operational definitions of verbal coercion.

Binegativity Exacerbates the Effects of Sexual Victimization Disclosure on Posttraumatic Stress and Drinking Among Bisexual Women

Bisexual women experience higher rates of sexual victimization and mental health problems compared to heterosexual and lesbian women. Bisexual women also receive more unsupportive or overtly negative reactions when they disclose experiences of sexual victimization. The current study aimed to examine the interaction of negative social reactions and binegativity (i.e., experiences of stigma due to bisexual identity) in predicting posttraumatic stress, depression, and hazardous drinking among bisexual women. The sample consisted of 161 young adult bisexual women (ages 18–35) who disclosed a sexual victimization experience to at least one person. Moderation analyses were conducted via the PROCESS macro for SPSS. “Turning against” reactions to disclosure (e.g., victim blame and avoidance of the victim) predicted increased posttraumatic stress and hazardous drinking in the presence of binegativity. In addition, reactions to disclosure that acknowledged the experience but were unsupportive predicted increased drinking in the context of binegativity. Depression was not associated with either type of negative reactions, regardless of binegativity. Thus, findings suggest that binegativity in combination with negative responses to disclosure of sexual victimization are important factors in specific types of distress related to sexual violence among bisexual women. Implications for research, clinical intervention, and policy are discussed.

Victimization experience does matter: Testing the effect of different types of victimization on fear of crime among adolescents

The aim of the present study is to thoroughly examine the relationship between adolescent fear of crime and a wide variety of offences which commonly affect children. The analysed data comes from the Urban Youth Victimization Survey conducted among 9th grade students in the Czech Republic. The results unequivocally demonstrate that victimization experience, when measured properly, substantially affects adolescent fear of crime. All analysed types of victimization are associated with fear of crime, though the strongest effects were found for cyber-victimization and bullying rather than conventional violent and property crimes. Furthermore, a poly-victimization scale was revealed to be a highly effective tool for capturing overall victimization by using a single summary measure.

The Key Characteristics and Role of Peer Support in the Aftermath of Victimization: A Scoping Review

Topic: Currently, research into the key elements and role of peer support in the aftermath of victimization is limited. This study reviews the types of evidence available, clarifying key concepts in the literature, examining how research is conducted and identifying key characteristics or factors related to peer support in the aftermath of a victimization experience. Method: A scoping review was performed for peer-reviewed papers using predefined search terms. Studies addressing peer support among victims and survivors of crime, traffic accidents, calamities, suicide, and veterans were included. Selection was based on title and abstract and resulted in 16 papers eligible for review. An inductive thematic analysis was used to synthesize data and findings. Findings: Empirical studies into the key elements and role of peer support in the aftermath of victimization are limited in availability and scattered in terms of approach to research (e.g., methodology, type of respondents, type of peer support) and focus (such as focus on effects on mental health and well-being, on key elements or an evaluation of a support program). Studies mainly have an explorative and interpretative character. Key elements, operationalizations, positive outcomes and negative outcomes of peer support are discussed. Conclusion and discussion: The currently available knowledge on peer support in the aftermath of victimization lacks four points: cross-cultural studies, lived experiences as empirical findings, a variety of victimization events and longitudinal studies. Moreover, it is argued that future research should be improved by adopting a contextual and narrative approach.

Level of Engagement with Social Networking Services and Fear of Online Victimization: The Role of Online Victimization Experiences

Prior research indicates that fear of crime may lessen a person’s quality of life by leading them to avoid participating in social activities. The current study explores the relationship between fear of online victimization and participants’ levels of engagement with social networking services (SNS). Using data from a survey of 1,000 adolescents and adults aged 14 to 59 years, the direct relationship between the level of engagement on SNS and fear of online victimization and the indirect relationship through prior victimization were assessed. Findings show that the direct effect of the level of engagement on SNS on victimization experience was significant. In addition, the relationship between the level of engagement and the fear of victimization on SNS was significantly mediated through prior victimization experiences on SNS. These findings support the hypothesis that greater exposure on SNS increases online victimization, leading to a greater fear of victimization on SNS. Considering the large role SNS play in social activities and relationships, the findings are important for understanding how victimization impacts fear and may help inform policymakers how to help people stay engaged freely in socializing in a safer online environment.

Relationship between bullying victimisation and post-traumatic stress disorder among public junior secondary school students in Abeokuta, Nigeria

AimsTo determine the relationship between bullying victimization and PTSD among students attending public Junior Secondary Schools in Abeokuta. The Prevalence of Bullying victimization and PTSD as well as some socio-demographic correlates were also assessed.MethodAbout 411 junior students from five randomly selected public secondary schools were approached for the study and given consent forms to take home to their parents/guardians. Those who subsequently returned signed consent forms and who gave assent to participate in the study were administered the Socio-demographic questionnaire and the Multidimensional Peer Victimisation Scale (MDPVS). They were thereafter interviewed with the PTSD module of the MINI KID.ResultA total of 351 students completed the study to yield a response rate of 85.4%. The age range of the respondents was 9–17 years with mean (SD) of 12.48 (1.50) years. The gender distribution was 49.3% males and 50.7% females. 68.7% of the respondents were from a monogamous home, 22.2% had divorced parents, 74.3% lived with both parents, and 6% reported being an only child. 14.8% of the respondents reported having experienced higher levels (moderate & high) of victimization by peers. The mean score of the overall bullying victimization level was 9.6 (±6.5). Verbal victimization subscale had the highest mean score of 3.2 (±2.0), while physical victimization had the lowest mean of 1.9 (±2.1). Seventy (19.9%) students admitted to the experience of a significant traumatic event, with only 7.1% of these meeting the current diagnosis of PTSD in the past month. There was no statistically significant association between bullying victimization and PTSD (χ2 = 2.666; df = 2; p = 0.261). Traumatic event experience was however significantly associated with high levels of bullying victimization experience (χ2 = 4.266; p = 0.039). None of the assessed socio-demographic, familial or self-perceptual factors was found to be significantly associated with either bullying victimization or PTSD.ConclusionThe experience of bullying victimization among secondary school students remains a prevailing problem in our local setting, as it is across the globe. Verbal bullying is the most common while physical bullying is the least common peer victimization experience in this study. The study points out that PTSD among high school students in our environment may be more prevalent than had previously been reported. Given the high rates of peer victimization experiences reported by students, there is a need for policy changes to make the school environment safer for students, thereby promoting their mental health.

Seeking Help From Formal Sources Among Teen Dating Violence Victims: Exploring the Role of Incident and Victim Characteristics

Most teen dating violence (TDV) victims do not seek help after their victimization experience. While research has identified that victims are more likely to turn to informal versus formal sources, there is a lack of knowledge about what factors are predictive of help-seeking from formal sources. The current study explored the impact of incident and victim characteristics on help-seeking from formal sources among middle and high school TDV victims (N = 2,174). Findings indicate that the severity and location of the victimization significantly increase the likelihood of help-seeking from formal sources.