Feelings of wantedness and consent during nonconsensual sex: Implications for posttraumatic cognitions.

Abstract

Social-cognitive models of traumatic stress have urged researchers to investigate the complex changes in victims' systems of belief following trauma. Among victims of rape, posttraumatic cognitions related to self-blame, safety, trust, intimacy, control, power, and esteem are common negative outcomes; yet there is great variability in the degree to which rape victims exhibit these reactions, and this remains unexplained. Two possible factors that may be relevant to the development of these posttraumatic cognitions are the extent to which the nonconsensual sexual act was internally perceived as nonconsensual by the victim and the extent to which it was internally perceived as unwanted by the victim. Although felt consent and perceived wanting are often conflated and rated dichotomously, there is evidence that they are distinct and may be experienced on a continuum. This study sought to examine the relationships among felt consent, wantedness, and posttraumatic cognitions in a sample of 189 undergraduate female victims of rape. Results demonstrated that perceived consent and perceived wantedness had unique and opposite relationships with posttraumatic cognitions: Greater felt consent was a risk factor for characterological and behavioral self-blame and maladaptive self-beliefs, but greater feelings of wanting to have sex constituted a protective factor for characterological self-blame, maladaptive self-beliefs, and maladaptive world-beliefs. A suppression effect was also identified, which provided evidence that perceived consent and wantedness work in tandem in the cognitive processing of rape. Clinical and research implications are discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of understanding and honoring victims' perceptions.

The Effect of Passively Viewing a Consent Campaign Video on Attitudes Toward Rape

“…Participants often suggested that a non-consensual scenario was consensual because it was wanted and, similarly, suggested that a consensual scenario could have been non-consensual because it was not wanted. Responses may reflect previous research findings that suggest wantedness and consent can be rated as synonymous and also contrasting concepts (Artime and Peterson, 2015) which may suggest a lack of understanding in public perceptions of consent. Participant responses seem to represent wanting from the victim rather than the perpetrator in which, if the victim wanted to have sex, then the person has consented to it.…”

Validation of the polish version of the posttraumatic cognitions inventory

“…Foa and Rothbaum (1998) suggested that negative cognitions about the self are characteristic for victims of sexual violence. It has been demonstrated that self-blame also plays important role in the processing of sexual violence (Halligan et al 2003;Dunmore et al 2001;Artime and Peterson 2015;Steine et al 2017). The current study differentiated between women who had experienced sexual abuse and women who had been exposed to other types of trauma.…”

“…Cognitive models of the psychological reaction to trauma are based on the assumption that the subjective appraisal of an event has effect on the response to trauma and the severity of trauma related symptoms (Ehlers and Clark 2000); and that negative posttraumatic cognitions mediate the relationship between exposure to trauma and psychopathology. There is vast evidence suggesting that individuals exposed to trauma often develop negative beliefs about themselves and the world (Foa and Riggs 1993;Foa and Rothbaum 1998;Artime and Peterson 2015)this seems to apply mostly to individuals who lack social support and personal resources to deal with trauma (Zang et al 2017). Holding negative views about oneself is, in turn, associated with higher severity of psychiatric symptoms related to traumasuch as posttraumatic stress disorder or generalized anxiety disorder (Samuelson et al 2016;Beck et al 2015).…”

Correlates of Adolescent Ambiguity in Defining their Experience of Sexual Victimization in Two Large-Scale Croatian Samples

“…It may also have negative social consequences such as the normalization of sexual abuse. But some evidence suggests that not defining the experience as sexual abuse may also protect against posttraumatic emotions and cognitions associated with self-blame and lower self-esteem (Artime and Peterson 2015). One reason for this may be that individuals who perceive the experience as unwanted and nonconsensual are more likely to demonstrate self-blame (Artime and Peterson 2015).…”

“…But some evidence suggests that not defining the experience as sexual abuse may also protect against posttraumatic emotions and cognitions associated with self-blame and lower self-esteem (Artime and Peterson 2015). One reason for this may be that individuals who perceive the experience as unwanted and nonconsensual are more likely to demonstrate self-blame (Artime and Peterson 2015). However, some studies suggested that individuals struggling to define their experience display similar or worse psychological and emotional difficulties compared to individuals who acknowledged their negative experience as sexual abuse (Frazier and Seales 1997;Marx and Soler-Baillo 2005).…”