TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Self-blame and PTSD following sexual assault: a longitudinal analysis
JO  - Journal of interpersonal violence
A1  - Kline, Nora K.
A1  - Berke, Danielle S.
A1  - Rhodes, Charla A.
A1  - Steenkamp, Maria M.
A1  - Litz, Brett T.
SP  - 886260518770652
EP  - 886260518770652
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Sexual assault is a prevalent trauma associated with high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Social,cognitive theories posit that behavioral self-blame (i.e., attributing the cause of the assault to personal peri-event behavior) contributes to the etiology and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Yet the direction of the association between self-blame and PTSD symptoms in the acute aftermath of sexual assault is unknown. This study evaluated temporal pathways between behavioral self-blame and PTSD symptom severity in an epidemiological sample of sexual assault survivors ( n = 126) assessed at four time points in the months immediately following the assault. <br><br>RESULTS of cross-lagged panel modeling revealed that reports of behavioral self-blame at the first assessment following sexual assault predicted PTSD symptom severity at Time 2. However, there was no association between behavioral self-blame at Time 2 and PTSD symptom severity at Time 3, nor was there an association between behavioral self-blame at Time 3 and PTSD symptom severity at Time 4. Instead, PTSD symptom severity predicted behavioral self-blame at Times 3 and 4. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest that behavioral self-blame following sexual assault may be particularly relevant to the onset of PTSD symptoms, while PTSD symptoms themselves appear to intensify subsequent perceptions of behavioral self-blame. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0886-2605
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0886260518770652
ID  - ref1
ER  -