Sequelae of sexual assault

Experiences of Sexual Assault and Financial Stability: Sense of Control as a Potential Mechanism

This investigation utilized the Midlife in the United States Survey (N = 3,258) to assess the relationships between sexual assault, sense of control, and financial stability. Age of first sexual assault and sexual assault revictimization were also considered in analyses of sexual assault survivors' data. Results revealed consistent associations between experiences of sexual assault and revictimization with lower financial stability and suggest that sense of control may be an indirect mechanism linking these variables. Findings have policy relevance and practical implications for practitioners. Restoring sexual assault victims' internal loci of control may promote more positive financial outcomes.

The forensic nursing in sexual assaults: the immunochemical diagnosis and prevention of its adverse effects

Sexual assault was a ubiquitous and serious problem in our society. The world's care centers and forensic associations, which were at the forefront of scientific research in sexual assaults, discussed the role of the Forensic Nursing in their early diagnosis and their prevention, but little has been written in literature regarding their appropriate management. This article focuses on the immunochemical laboratory investigation in diagnosis and prevention of its adverse effects in sexual assaults and the role of the Forensic Nursing played in this task. After a careful reading of all the material received from many of the care centers and the associations contacted, a Forensic Nursing Examination Program, with specific immunochemical address, is identified.

An ecological model of the impact of sexual assault on women's mental health

This review examines the psychological impact of adult sexual assault through an ecological theoretical perspective to understand how factors at multiple levels of the social ecology contribute to post-assault sequelae. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1986, 1995) ecological theory of human development, we examine how individual-level factors (e.g., sociodemographics, biological/genetic factors), assault characteristics (e.g., victim-offender relationship, injury, alcohol use), microsystem factors (e.g., informal support from family and friends), meso/ exosystem factors (e.g., contact with the legal, medical, and mental health systems, and rape crisis centers), macrosystem factors (e.g., societal rape myth acceptance), and chronosystem factors (e.g., sexual revictimization and history of other victimizations) affect adult sexual assault survivors' mental health outcomes (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicidality, and substance use). Self-blame is conceptualized as meta-construct that stems from all levels of this ecological model. Implications for curbing and/or preventing the negative mental health effects of sexual assault are discussed.