Relative effects of sexual assault and other traumatic life events on self-harm

Watters, Kayleigh N.; Yalch, Matthew M.

doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2021.100244

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The finding that over half of our study participants endorsed sexual assault is consistent with rates of sexual assault in other studies (Finley & Corty, 1993;Hartwick et al, 2007;Littleton et al, 2019;Watters & Yalch, 2021) and underscores how common sexual assault is. The finding that sexual assault is associated with a sensitivity to others being submissive provides empirical support for what has long been an observation in psychoanalytically informed therapists for sexual assault survivors-that it is painful for sexual assault survivors to see other people be pushed around and not stand up for themselves (e.g., Colarusso, 2010;Gartner, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Interpersonal sensitivities associated with sexual assault.

Watters¹,

Yalch²

2022

Psychoanalytic Psychology

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Sexual assault is a common traumatic stressor associated with a number of psychosocial problems for adult men and women. The problems associated with sexual assault are thought to be attributable to its complexity as an interpersonal behavior. However, the interpersonal ramifications of sexual assault are unclear. One way of understanding the nature of interpersonal behavior is by using a tool that has deep roots in psychoanalytic thought, the interpersonal circumplex (IPC). The IPC is a graphical tool used to map the interpersonal salience of behavior across two dimensions, warmth (vs. coldness) and dominance (vs. submissiveness). In this study, we examined the interpersonal sensitivities related to sexual assault in a sample of adult men and women (N = 390) using a bootstrapped structural summary approach to mapping constructs across the IPC. Results indicated that sexual assault is associated with a sensitivity to submissiveness. Results further suggested some differences in how sexual assault is differentially associated with interpersonal sensitivity for men and women. Men who experienced sexual assault are especially sensitive to submissiveness, while women who experienced sexual assault are sensitive to submissiveness as well as many other kinds of interpersonal behaviors. These findings suggest directions for future research and have implications for working clinically with adult survivors of sexual assault.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Interpersonal sensitivities associated with sexual assault.

Watters¹,

Yalch²

2022

Psychoanalytic Psychology

Self Cite

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“…There was a discrepancy between those who reported behaviors that constitute sexual assault and those who acknowledged they had experienced sexual assault. This finding is similar to previous research where measuring sexual assault using behavioral defined measures yields more acknowledgment of sexual assaultive experiences (Testa et al, 2004; Warshaw, 1988; Watters & Yalch, 2022; White et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Factors that influence college student acknowledgment of sexual assault.

Watters¹,

Yalch²

2023

Traumatology

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Sexual assault is a common problem on college campuses, but exactly how common it is varies greatly across studies. This variance may be related to what researchers ask about sexual assault (e.g., the wording of questions in measures about sexual assault exposure) and who they ask (e.g., in terms of gender and sexual orientation). However, there is little research on the degree to which what sexual assault survivors are asked and who is asked impacts prevalence of sexual assault. In this study, we examined how the frequency of different forms of sexual assault (e.g., unwanted sexual contact, rape) predicted acknowledgment of having experienced sexual assault using two different forms of measurement in a sample of college men and women exposed to sexual assault (N = 240) using logistic regression and configural frequency analysis. Results indicated heterosexual cisgender men are less likely to acknowledge sexual assault when assaulted by either a woman or another man, heterosexual cisgender women are less likely to acknowledge sexual assault when assaulted by another woman, and both gay cisgender men and lesbian cisgender women are more likely to acknowledge sexual assault than their heterosexual counterparts. Results further suggested that students are more likely to acknowledge sexual assault in the context of unwanted sexual contact but not rape. These findings have implications for research on and outreach related to sexual assault on college campuses.

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“…Suicide is one of the most common causes of death, so it is extremely important to comprehend risk factors of suicide in order to have a complete and directed response for its prevention [33]. Many studies have found that exposure to a traumatic event increases the risk of suicidal behavior [6,10,13,18,21,32,[34][35][36][37]. Saraçli and collaborators [24] found that the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among participants who were exposed to some traumatic event (18.3%) was nearly double that of participants without history of trauma during their childhood (9.6%).…”

Section: Suicidementioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Life Trauma on Mental Health and Suicidal Behavior: A Study from Portuguese Language Countries

Silva

Pereira

2022

Behavioral Sciences

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Several studies report the incidence of traumatic experiences in community and clinical samples, and substantial research demonstrates the impact of traumatic events on mental health and suicidal behavior, but this area remains unexplored in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLC). Thus, this study aims to (1) describe traumatic experiences, mental health levels and suicidal behavior among individuals from Portugal, Brazil and African Countries with Portuguese as an Official Language (ACPOL); (2) assess correlations between traumatic experiences and mental health and suicidal behavior; and (3) assess the impact of exposure to a traumatic event on mental health and suicidal behavior. The measurement instruments included a sociodemographic questionnaire, Brief Trauma Questionnaire, Brief Symptoms Inventory-18, and the Portuguese version of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. ACPOL participants reported greater impact of war, Portuguese participants reported greater impact of disasters, and Brazilian participants reported greater impact of psychological and sexual abuse, assault, and death of a family member. Brazilian participants showed the worst levels of mental health and suicidal thoughts. Strong correlations were found between traumatic experiences and mental health levels and suicidal behavior. Traumatic experiences contributed to the explanation of mental health levels and probability of committing suicide.

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Relative effects of sexual assault and other traumatic life events on self-harm

Cited by 5 publications

References 33 publications

Interpersonal sensitivities associated with sexual assault.

Interpersonal sensitivities associated with sexual assault.

Factors that influence college student acknowledgment of sexual assault.

The Impact of Life Trauma on Mental Health and Suicidal Behavior: A Study from Portuguese Language Countries

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