A growing literature has documented that negative social reactions to disclosures of sexual and intimate partner violence (IPV), such as victim blaming or disbelief, can negatively affect survivors’ recovery. However, despite growing recognition of the frequency of unwanted pursuit behaviors (UPBs; for example, stalking, excessive or threatening contact) following romantic relationships and their negative effects on survivors, research to date has not explored disclosures, social reactions, or their impacts among victims of UPBs. The purpose of the present study was to assess the frequency of disclosures of UPB victimization to various sources, social reactions received, and their associations with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among a sample of 318 undergraduate women (ages 18-24) who reported a breakup within the past 3 years, 59.7% ( n =190) reported experiencing UPBs. Nearly all of the women (92.6%; n =176) who experienced UPBs disclosed their victimization to others. Among women who disclosed, the most frequent recipient of disclosure was a female friend (93.2%, n = 164) and women reported receiving higher mean positive than negative social reactions ( p < .001). Results supported the hypothesized indirect effect of UPB victimization on PTSD symptoms through increases in negative social reactions ( p < .001); these results suggest that negative social reactions to UPB victimization may increase the risk for PTSD symptomatology. By contrast, there was no indirect effect via positive social reactions ( p = .205). Implications for research and clinical practice will be discussed.

Objective: Women veterans are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). Within the civilian literature, intimate partner stalking (IPS) is a common, uniquely deleterious form of IPV; the present study seeks to prospectively examine the psychological effects of IPS among women veterans. Method: Women veterans (n = 266) were recruited using the KnowledgePanel, a probability-based survey panel; participants completed surveys at time 1 (T1) and at time 2 (T2) follow-up 18 months later. Women responded to questionnaires assessing IPV and IPS experiences, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Results: At T1, 54.5% of women reported lifetime IPV, of whom 64.1% reported IPS; at T2, 49.2% reported past-year IPV, of whom 7.6% experienced past-year IPS. Bivariately, women in the T1 IPS group reported higher T2 PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms than the T1 IPV only and no IPV groups. In a multivariate model, there remained indirect effects of T1 IPS on T2 PTSD symptoms, when other forms of violence (i.e., T1 and T2 IPV, MST, IPS) were controlled. Conclusions: When added to models including other forms of IPV, women who experienced IPS reported increased risk for PTSD symptoms, which predicted heightened PTSD symptoms over time. Providers treating women veterans should assess for experiences of IPS as an additional form of IPV and address PTSD to prevent the development of subsequent comorbid psychopathology. Clinical Impact StatementPrior research indicates that women veterans are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). However, despite civilian research reporting deleterious effects of intimate partner stalking (IPS), there is limited research examining IPS among women veterans. To address this literature gap, our study prospectively explores associations among IPV, IPS, and their negative effects. The findings suggest that IPS contributes to symptom severity. Clinicians should consider inquiring about IPS victimization experiences when assessing for IPV among women veterans in order to inform treatment methods.

While the use of teamwork and group decision-making increases in organiza tions, managers find meetings increasingly inconvenient. Group decision support systems (GDSS) are computer programs designed to improve processes, out comes, and speed of group decisions. The purpose of this field experiment, using restaurant managers as subjects, was to determine if GDSS could help managers make decisions more quickly and help them produce more ideas and information. The research involved two face-to-face meetings and two GDSS meetings. Results indicated no significant difference in decision time orparticipation quantity. However, when those two variables were combined into an efficiency index, the face-to-face decision discussions were found to be more efficient than the GDSS discussions. Future research should include more field experiments to reveal which decision types and group types can be assisted by GDSS.

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Objective: Previous research has indicated that many undergraduates receive disclosures of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) from their peers; however, much of this research has been cross-sectional. The present study assessed the extent to which demographic characteristics and victimization history predicted whether participants received disclosures over the subsequent 6 months. Directional hypotheses assessed whether psychological symptoms and attitudes predicted, or were consequences of, disclosures at follow-up. Method: College students (n ϭ 867) from a broader treatment intervention study completed pretest (Time 1) and 6-month follow-up surveys (Time 2). Results: Individuals who reported new disclosures at follow-up (56%) were more likely to be women, have previous experience receiving either sexual assault or IPV disclosures, and have experienced sexual assault or IPV victimization in their lifetime and across the follow-up period. Sexual orientation did not predict receipt of disclosures at follow-up; intervention group did not moderate these relationships. Results of longitudinal structural equation models found that although higher Time 1 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms predicted disclosure status at follow-up, Time 1 disclosure status did not predict subsequent increases in posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms. Attitudinal variables were not significantly associated with disclosures reported at Time 1 or follow-up. Conclusions: Findings suggest the importance of attending to personal experiences of victimization within interventions aiming to improve responses to disclosure. Although individuals with higher distress are more likely to receive subsequent disclosures, disclosure does not appear to lead to increases in long-term psychological distress.