Objective: Sexual assault victims often do not disclose their assaults or seek positive health outcomes. The RAINN Survivor Stories project shares testimonials in the form of online blogs from sexual assault survivors to motivate and encourage others to come forward and disclose their assaults. This study aimed to better understand the themes present in the survivor stories to motivate victims to disclose their assaults and seek positive health outcomes. Design: A theoretical thematic analysis was conducted on blog posts created for the project to identify (a) how the posts tell survivor stories and (b) how the posts model positive health outcomes using social cognitive theory and the disclosure processes model as a guide. Setting: Online setting linked to the rainn.org website. Method: Blog posts were collected for inductive thematic analysis. Themes were identified based on their prevalence in the data and their pertinence to the research questions. Results: Emerging themes included (a) overcoming initial disclosure, (b) overcoming the lasting effects of victimisation, (c) utilising support and (d) advocating for others after assault. Conclusion: Findings offer insight to researchers and practitioners creating media messages for sexual assault victims and other stigmatised groups by expanding understanding of modelled positive health outcomes in media and the disclosure process of victims.
Rural and urban hospitals must respond differently to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, given their unique situations. In this study, we performed a rhetorical analysis of press releases from rural and urban hospitals in Texas to better understand the crisis communication strategies of the two hospital systems. Following previous literature on narrative sensemaking, place-based storytelling, and pre-crisis management, we found that the examined press releases used setting details to ground their health-related information in their specific communities. Such a strategy made the information accessible and attainable, but potentially reinforced place-based tensions and inequalities. Our study has implications for preventative sensemaking research as well as for crisis communicators attempting to better reach specific communities during a long-term, developing crisis.
College students can use bystander intervention tactics to prevent sexual assault within their communities. One's group memberships and group identification—conceptualized within social identity theory—could influence attitudes and behaviors related to bystander intervention. College students ( n = 1,170) participated in an online survey measuring group membership with student subgroups, identification, and bystander intervention perceptions. Subgroups in this study included fraternities/sororities, student organizations, National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes, club/intramural sports, and spiritual/faith-based organizations. For various student subgroups, group identification was significantly correlated with individuals’ perceived willingness and likelihood to engage in bystander intervention and their perceptions about the helpfulness of bystander intervention tactics.
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