Citation

McConnell AA, Messman-Moore TL. Psychol. Violence 2019; 9(5): 526-535.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/vio0000211

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Bisexual women report higher rates of sexual revictimization than their heterosexual and lesbian peers (Heidt, Marx, & Gold, 2005; Hequembourg, Livingston, & Parks, 2013), and limited research has examined risk factors for sexual revictimization among this population. The current study examined hazardous drinking use as a mediator of the relation between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adult rape among bisexual women. Further, antibisexual prejudice was tested as a moderator of the indirect effect to better understand the context of hazardous drinking within this population.

METHOD: Data were collected online from 343 bisexual women. Participants completed measures of CSA, antibisexual prejudice, hazardous drinking, and adult rape. The PROCESS macro was used to test the conditional indirect effect of CSA on adult rape via hazardous drinking, moderated by antibisexual prejudice.

RESULTS: The rate of revictimization in the current sample was 38.6%. The hypothesized conditional indirect effect was supported; CSA was indirectly related to adult rape through hazardous drinking only at mean and high levels of antibisexual prejudice.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need for interventions at both policy and individual levels. Policies aimed at reducing bisexual stigma may be useful in addressing high rates of revictimization and reducing the potential for victim blaming, as it highlights the role of societal stigma in creating risk for revictimization. Clinical interventions focused on helping CSA survivors cope adaptively with the added stress of antibisexual prejudice may be useful in reducing risk for sexual revictimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en