Changes in Risk Perception After Sexual Victimization: Are We Following the Right Track?

Abstract

Sexual abuse is a major public health concern with detrimental effects on both mental and physical health. Several studies have reported that victims of sexual abuse have a decreased ability to recognize risk in potentially threatening situations compared with nonvictims, although others were not able to replicate this finding. In addition, although emotion dysregulation has been linked to risk perception and sexual victimization, results have been contradictory. To strengthen the theoretical framework needed for the development of interventions to reduce women's likelihood of sexual assault, it is crucial to further examine the role of emotion dysregulation in relation to sexual victimization history and risk perception. The aim of the current study was to examine cross-sectional associations between sexual victimization, emotion regulation difficulties, and risk perception. In our sample of 276 female college

Risk Factors for Revictimization

“…Nevertheless, the small effect found in the study and lack of difference in risk recognition in revictimized women compared to non-victims cast doubt on this assumption that risk recognition, at least as it is operationalized so far in the studies, is a risk factor for revictimization. Furthermore, two more cross-sectional studies did not find an association between (poor) risk recognition and lifetime sexual victimization in a community sample (Chu et al, 2014) and university students (de Waal et al, 2019).…”