Predictors of Victim–Perpetrator Relationship Stability Following a Sexual Assault: A Brief Report

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie M. Edwards ◽  
Megan C. Kearns ◽  
Christine A. Gidycz ◽  
Karen S. Calhoun
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Relationship Stability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Perpetrator Blame ◽  
Trauma Symptomatology

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.

Campus Sexual Assault: A Systematic Review of Prevalence Research From 2000 to 2015

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Fedina ◽  
Jennifer Lynne Holmes ◽  
Bethany L. Backes
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Sexual Victimization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sexual Contact ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Campus Sexual Assault ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Unwanted Sexual Contact

Sexual assault is a pervasive problem on university and college campuses in the United States that has garnered growing national attention, particularly in the past year. This is the first study to systematically review and synthesize prevalence findings from studies on campus sexual assault (CSA) published since 2000 ( n = 34). The range of prevalence findings for specific forms of sexual victimization on college campuses (i.e., forcible rape, unwanted sexual contact, incapacitated rape, sexual coercion, and studies’ broad definitions of CSA/rape) is provided, and methodological strengths and limitations in the empirical body of research on CSA are discussed. Prevalence findings, research design, methodology, sampling techniques, and measures, including the forms of sexual victimization measured, are presented and evaluated across studies. Findings suggest that unwanted sexual contact appears to be most prevalent on college campuses, including sexual coercion, followed by incapacitated rape, and completed or attempted forcible rape. Additionally, several studies measured broad constructs of sexual assault that typically include combined forms of college-based sexual victimization (i.e., forcible completed or attempted rape, unwanted sexual contact, and/or sexual coercion). Extensive variability exists within findings for each type of sexual victimization measured, including those that broadly measure sexual assault, which is largely explained by differences in sampling strategies and overall study designs as well as measures of sexual assault used in studies. Implications for findings and recommendations for future research on the prevalence of college-based sexual victimization are provided.

Evaluating the Association Between Psychopathy and Specific Attachment Models in Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-S16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott Christian ◽  
Martin Sellbom ◽  
Ross B. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Peer Relationships ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Current Investigation ◽  
Attachment Relationships ◽  
Specific Attachment ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
General Community

In the current investigation, we examined the association between psychopathy and attachment styles in several specific attachment relationships (i.e., romantic, mother, father, friend). Data were collected online from a combination of Australian university and general community samples (N = 729, 53.50% female) using the Expanded Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Christian & Sellbom, 2016) and a modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Structures (Fraley, Heffernan, Vicary, & Brumbaugh, 2011). Our results revealed that specific attachment models tend to have small to moderate associations with the components of psychopathy, but that the strength and direction of these associations tends to differ between figures, components of psychopathy, and dimension of attachment considered. Interestingly, it appeared that peer relationships (i.e., romantic, friend) tended to account for the majority of the variance in the relationship between psychopathy and general attachment styles, which may be an important avenue for future research.

scholarly journals Childhood sexual abuse and pathogenic parenting in the childhood recollections of adult twin pairs

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293-1302 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. McLAUGHLIN ◽  
A. C. HEATH ◽  
K. K. BUCHOLZ ◽  
P. A. F. MADDEN ◽  
L. J. BIERUT ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Clear Relationship ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Parental Overprotection ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Parenting Behaviour

Background. We examined the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and interviewees' recollections of pathogenic parenting, testing for possible retrospective biases in the recollections of those who have experienced CSA.Methods. Information about CSA, parental divorce and interviewees' recollections of parental rejection, parental overprotection and perceived autonomy (as assessed through a shortened version of the Parental Bonding Instrument) was obtained through telephone interviews with 3626 Australian twins who had also returned self-report questionnaires several years earlier. Recollections of parental behaviours were compared for individuals from pairs in which neither twin, at least one twin, or both twins reported CSA.Results. Significant associations were noted between CSA and paternal alcoholism and between CSA and recollections of parental rejection. For women, individuals from CSA-discordant pairs reported levels of parental rejection that were significantly higher than those obtained from CSA-negative pairs. The levels of parental rejection observed for twins from CSA-discordant pairs did not differ significantly from those obtained from CSA-concordant pairs, regardless of respondent's abuse status. For men from CSA-discordant pairs, respondents reporting CSA displayed a tendency to report higher levels of parental rejection than did respondents not reporting CSA. Other measures of parenting behaviour (perceived autonomy and parental overprotection) failed to show a clear relationship with CSA.Conclusions. The relationship between CSA and respondents' recollections of parental rejection is not due solely to retrospective bias on the part of abused individuals and, consistent with other studies, may reflect a pathological family environment with serious consequences for all siblings.

Sexual Assault and Students With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
pp. 588-611
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Gibbon ◽  
Nicole Taylor ◽  
Elyse R. Scheckler ◽  
Michelle Stagmer ◽  
David F. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Forced Sterilization ◽  
Disability Categories ◽  
Specific Disability ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ongoing Monitoring

This chapter reviews the special vulnerabilities of students with disabilities to sexual assault. The relationship between the characteristics of specific disability categories and the delivery system that is special education is explored. Historical and philosophical trends such as institutionalization, forced sterilization, and the Eugenics Movement that created the environment for sexual abuse of students with disabilities are discussed. The authors provide a case study about a recent sexual assault and a discussion of the Willowbrook institution where well documented sexual abuse of people with disabilities took place. Age and disability specific sex education, teacher training, and ongoing monitoring are recommended to improve the safety of some of our most vulnerable students.

Using Prolonged Exposure With an Older Male U.S. Veteran With Childhood Sexual Abuse-Related PTSD

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elissa McCarthy ◽  
Joan M. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Randomized Clinical Trials ◽  
Prolonged Exposure ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
Meaningful Improvement ◽  
Chronic Ptsd

Older adults have generally not been included in randomized clinical trials of psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Of the case reports and treatment outcome studies that have included those aged 55 and older, most did not include men with sexual abuse-related PTSD. This case report presents the successful application of Prolonged Exposure (PE) to a 58-year-old single, Caucasian noncombat U.S. Army veteran with severe, chronic PTSD related to several sexual assaults, including childhood sexual abuse. PE is a manualized, short-term, evidence-based psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD which involves psychoeducation, breathing retraining, in vivo exposure, and imaginal exposure. PTSD and depressive symptoms demonstrated clinically meaningful improvement during the course of treatment. In addition, he experienced significant improvement in quality of life as well as meaning and purpose from baseline to posttreatment. Implications for clinically working with older men with untreated childhood sexual abuse-related PTSD later in life are presented. Future research directions are discussed.

Power and Influence Strategies in Violent and Nonviolent Marriages

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Hanson Frieze ◽  
Maureen C. McHugh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Influence Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Dimension ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

How important is the use of physical violence in determining the balance of power within marriage? Do women in violent marriages make more use of indirect strategies in attempting to persuade their husbands than do women in nonviolent marriages? Is marital satisfaction related to influence styles? These questions are investigated by looking at decision making in couples and how this is related to the forms of influence strategies used by wives and husbands in violent and nonviolent marriages. Data from in-depth structured interviews with 137 self-identified battered wives and 137 comparison wives, some of whom were also found to have experienced violence from their husbands, are used to answer these questions. Results indicated that women with violent husbands used more influence strategies overall, although these women had less overall power in terms of decision making than did women with nonviolent husbands. The relationship of influence strategies to decision making was different for women with violent husbands than for those whose husbands were not violent. As expected, the use of coercive strategies related negatively to marital happiness, whereas positive strategies were positively predictive. Violence and other negative strategies should be included in future research on influence strategies in close relationships, and a positive–negative dimension should be included as a way of categorizing influence strategies.

Intimate Partner Sexual Coercion Mediates the Childhood Sexual Abuse–Suicidal Ideation Link Among African American Women

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorian A. Lamis ◽  
Courtenay E. Cavanaugh ◽  
Maria H. Anastasiades ◽  
Amanda Garcia-Williams ◽  
Claudine Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
African American ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Sexual Coercion ◽  
Suicide Ideation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
American Women

Suicide is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and intimate partner violence are significant risk factors for suicidal ideation among women. The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among these three constructs and test if intimate partner sexual coercion may explain the CSA–suicidal ideation link. African American women ( N = 141) completed an assessment of childhood trauma, intimate partner sexual coercion, and suicide ideation. A significant positive correlation was found between CSA and sexual coercion, between CSA and suicidal ideation, and between sexual coercion and suicidal ideation. Also, intimate partner sexual coercion was found to mediate the relationship between CSA and suicidal ideation when controlling for covariates such as spiritual well-being, self-esteem, and barriers to services. The association between CSA and suicidal ideation may be explained by sexual revictimization in the context of an intimate relationship among African American women. Clinically, practitioners should engage in regular screening for suicide ideation among African American women who have experienced CSA and intimate partner sexual coercion.

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