Citation

Peter-Hagene LC, Ullman SE. Psychol. Trauma 2015; 7(2): 162-170.

Affiliation

Criminology, Law, and Justice Department, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0037304

PMID

25793692

Abstract

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 7(2) of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy (see record 2015-05325-001). In the article, there was an error in the abstract. The second to last sentence should have read, "The effect of assault-characteristics clusters on Time 2 PTSD was mediated by Time 1 self-blame and turning against social reactions."] Using cluster analysis, we investigated the effects of assault characteristics (i.e., level of violence, subjective distress, alcohol consumption, perpetrator identity) on PTSD symptoms, and whether these effects are mediated by postassault social and psychological reactions. A large community sample of women sexual assault survivors completed 2 mail surveys at a 1-year interval. In line with prior research, cluster analyses revealed the existence of 3 general categories of sexual assault, which we described as "high violence," "alcohol-related," and "moderate sexual severity." Alcohol-related assaults resulted in fewer PTSD symptoms than high-violence assaults at Time 1, but not at Time 2. Alcohol-related and violent assaults resulted in more PTSD symptoms than moderate-severity assaults at both times. The effect of assault-characteristics clusters on Time 2 PTSD was mediated by Time 1 self-blame and turning against social reactions. The importance of considering effects of violence and alcohol consumption during the assault to better understand postassault PTSD, including implications for theory and practice, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Language: en