Sexual Violence and Mental Health: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion Using a Feminist Lens

Abstract

Feminist theories describe how women who experience sexual violence often internalize cultural narratives which can lead to self-blame and disconnection. Self-compassion has the potential to provide a buffer against these negative outcomes. This study explored self-compassion as a mediator of the association between experiencing sexual violence and negative mental health outcomes. The sample consisted of 368 undergraduate women. A path analysis revealed that experiencing sexual violence prior to the beginning of the semester was positively associated with self-criticism, anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms at the end of the semester directly and indirectly through self-compassion mid-semester. Clinical and research implications are also discussed.

A self-compassion expressive writing intervention for sexual victimization stigma.

“…The premise of our study was that self-compassion would be a worthwhile target for therapeutic intervention in survivors of SV. A multiple mediation path model of responses taken at “baseline” provided support for this premise and replicated previous research by showing that high trait self-compassion in SV survivors is associated with lower psychological distress (Hamrick & Owens, 2021; McAllister & Vennum, 2022), lower PTSD (e.g., Bhuptani & Messman, 2022; Hamrick & Owens, 2019), and higher personal well-being. These associations were substantial in magnitude, “explaining” between one quarter to one third of the variance in the measures of psychological functioning.…”

Resilient again: COVID‐19, feminist anti‐violence work, and the question of sustainability

“…It has a wide range of long‐term effects on survivors. For instance, it is associated with high rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as poor physical health (McAllister & Vennum, 2022; Renzetti & Edleson, 2008).…”

“…anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as poor physical health (McAllister & Vennum, 2022;Renzetti & Edleson, 2008).…”

The effectiveness of a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) on knowledge, skill and practice regarding sexual assault examination (SAE) among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Udupi district, India: A study protocol

“…These include positioning and examination of the client, obtaining high-quality specimens, identifying and reporting genital-anal injuries after sexual assault, comparing the injuries of consensual and non-consensual intercourse, identifying and collecting traces from the fingernail and other materials for the DNA analysis of the aggressor and employing DNA evidence in sexual offence cases to aid the identification of suspects, movement of forensic evidence and chain of custody, analysing and preventing drug-facilitated crimes against women, usage of photo colposcopy to identify hymenal transections and other injuries in children and adult females, simulation, forensic photography, bite-mark identification, handling vicarious trauma and mindfulness based interventions for better coping. Peer support is also essential for nurses to be able to cope with the demands of working in such situations ( Drake and Adams, 2015 ; Gharedaghi et al , 2018 ; Yesodharan et al , 2018, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al , 2019 ; Usman et al , 2019 ; Yassa and Badea, 2019 ; McAllister and Vennum, 2021 ; Zweig et al , 2021 ).…”