Perceptions of Physical, Sexual, and Psychological Violence Stories: A Registered Report

Abstract

Survivors of sexual violence have shared their stories with the public through social media in growing numbers. Recent research shows that sexual violence (versus other, less stigmatizing trauma) stories are perceived as more difficult to tell, and their storytellers as less likeable. This is true even when stories have redemptive endings, contradicting an established U.S. cultural preference for redemptive stories. However, it is unknown if sexual violence perceptions generalize to different types of interpersonal violence (IPV) and if audience perceptions vary across 3 major types of IPV (sexual, physical, psychological). This pre-registered replication and extension study investigates these questions with a vignette-based experimental design modeled after 2 published studies by the first and last authors. Broadly, we hypothesized that cultural invalidation of sexual violence stories would extend to any IPV story (vs. non-IPV traumas such as natural disasters), and that within the realm of IPV, cultural invalidation would be more pronounced for psychological violence stories (vs. sexual/physical). Three samples of U.S. adult participants (N=1,045), 2 Nationally Representative and 1 University-based, were randomly assigned online to read 1 of 12 first-person trauma story vignettes and complete self-report surveys of story and storyteller perceptions in a 6 (trauma story: IPV [k=3], non-IPV [k=3]) x 2 (ending: negative, redemptive) between-subjects design. Support for our hypotheses was mixed. IPV (vs. non-IPV) stories were perceived as more difficult to share (η2p = .068) and their storytellers as having less positive personality traits (η2p = .043), even when stories ended redemptively. However, among the 3 IPV types, psychological violence storytellers were not robustly more stigmatized, and sexual violence stories were recognized as particularly difficult to disclose. IPV survivors face obstacles to telling their stories that may hamper both personal recovery and collective momentum for systemic change.

The Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence on Postpartum Depression: An Updated Meta-Analysis

“…Furthermore, the legality of certain acts of sexual violence within the context of a marriage can further complicate this issue (Puri et al, 2010). In addition, women may choose not to report sexual IPV exposure due to cultural taboos and stigma, discrimination, and humiliation associated with such disclosures (Ashenafi et al, 2021; Delker et al, 2022; Martin-De-Las-Heras et al, 2019).…”