Measuring social reactions to female survivors of alcohol-involved sexual assault: The Social Reactions Questionnaire-Alcohol

Social Reactions to Disclosure of Sexual Violence Experienced by Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults: Comparisons of Sexual and Gender Minority Recipients Versus Cisgender/Heterosexual Recipients

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals are at an increased risk of experiencing sexual violence (SV). Social reactions received upon disclosure of SV impact survivors' mental health, and this may be more extreme when social reactions are provided by other SGM individuals. The purpose of the current study was to understand the SV disclosure experiences of SGM young adults, including the identity of disclosure recipients and the quality of the social reactions received by SGM and cisgender/heterosexual disclosure recipients. Additionally, the current study sought to examine how the SGM identity of the disclosure recipient and the quality of the social reactions received were associated with mental health outcomes (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], and alcohol use) among SGM SV survivors. SGM-identifying participants (N = 110) completed a 10-min survey on Qualtrics that was distributed through Prime Panels. Results revealed that 83% of participants (SGM survivors of SV) disclosed their SV experience to other SGM individuals. SGM disclosure recipients provided more positive social reactions and fewer negative social reactions than cisgender/heterosexual disclosure recipients. Regression models indicated that positive social reactions from cisgender/heterosexual recipients were associated with a decrease in depression scores. Negative social reactions from SGM recipients were associated with an increase in depression scores. Unexpectedly, positive social reactions from SGM recipients, while negative social reactions from cisgender/heterosexual recipients, were associated with an increase in PTSD scores. No associations were found between social reactions and alcohol use. Findings highlight the importance of social reactions and disclosure experiences on SGM survivors' mental health and mitigation opportunities to improve these disclosure experiences.

Predictors of Rape Myth Acceptance Among South Asian Students in Canada

Transmission of rape myths is expected in every culture, yet limited research exists on rape myth acceptance (RMA) within global South Asian (SA) diasporas. We examined whether gender, attitudes toward gender roles, and patriarchal beliefs contributed to RMA among young SA adults in Canada. An ethnically diverse sample of 116 (ages 17-25) students, comprising equal numbers of men and women and domestic and international students, completed an online survey. SA students were generally egalitarian with low RMA similar to the majority of North American samples. As predicted, male gender, traditional attitudes towards SA women, and patriarchal beliefs were strong predictors of RMA.

Personalized normative feedback for hazardous drinking among college women: Differential outcomes by history of incapacitated rape

OBJECTIVE

Personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions are effective at reducing hazardous drinking in college. However, little is known about who is most receptive to PNF. College women with a history of alcohol-related incapacitated rape (IR) are at elevated risk for hazardous drinking, but it is unclear what impact intervention messaging may have on this group and how their outcomes compare to those without past IR. To address this gap, this study involved secondary data analysis of a large web-based clinical trial.

METHOD

Heavy drinking college women (N = 1,188) were randomized into PNF (n = 895) or control conditions (n = 293). Postintervention, women reported their reactions to intervention messaging. Hazardous drinking outcomes (typical drinking, heavy episodic drinking [HED], peak estimated blood alcohol content [eBAC], blackout frequency) were assessed at baseline and 12 months.

RESULTS

Past IR was reported by 16.3% (n = 194) of women. Women with a history of IR reported more baseline hazardous drinking and greater readiness to change than women without IR. For those who received PNF, history of IR related to greater perceived impact of the intervention, but no difference in satisfaction with the message. After controlling for baseline drinking, regressions revealed the effect of PNF was moderated by IR for frequency of HED at 12 months. Simple main effects revealed PNF was associated with lower levels of hazardous drinking at follow-up among women with past IR.

CONCLUSIONS

This initial investigation suggests PNF is a low resource and easily disseminated intervention that can have a positive impact on college women with past IR. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Variations in Women's Attribution of Blame for Sexual Assault

In the United States, sexual assault (SA) is a significant problem that has adverse psychological impacts on women. Scholarship has shown that when survivors choose to disclose their experiences, the way their networks react has a powerful impact on their well-being, but literature on response to SA disclosure has not extensively explored variation among women, who are likely recipients of these disclosures. This study explored variation among perceptions of and blame attribution for SA within a geographically and politically diverse but primarily White sample of women. Participants were assigned one of four vignettes, each of which described a non-stereotypical SA. The vignettes differed in two ways: (1) the social status of the perpetrator of the assault and (2) the length of time the victim waited to report. Results showed that being older and more politically conservative was associated with assigning less blame to the perpetrator and more blame to the victim, but neither education level nor where the participant lived were linked with blame attribution. While women's own experiences of SA were unrelated to their responses, having a loved one who had experienced SA was associated with less victim blaming. With respect to attitudes, women endorsing higher levels of social dominance orientation (SDO) and sexism also reported higher levels of victim blame and lower levels of perpetrator blame. Further research should explore the role of specific personal experiences and knowledge of others' SA in assignment of blame, investigate the predictors and moderators of SDO, and should extend these findings to more racially/ethnically diverse samples of women.

Social Reactions and Trauma Symptoms Among Gender and Sexual Minority Students Disclosing Sexual Violence

Addressing the higher rates of sexual violence experienced by gender and sexual minority students in university contexts requires an understanding of responses to disclosures of sexual violence. Using data from a large-scale study of sexual violence in university contexts, the current study examined (1) whether gender and sexual minority status was associated with responses to sexual violence disclosure and (2) how disclosure responses were associated with trauma symptoms among these students. Linear regression indicated that university students' (n = 1,464) reports of responses to disclosures of sexual violence did not differ across gender or sexual minority status. Focusing on gender and sexual minority participants (n = 327), linear regression linked turning against the victim and positive responses to higher levels of trauma symptoms.

Acute alcohol intoxication and alcohol expectancy effects on women's memory for consensual and non-consensual sexual activity

Objective

To test whether acute alcohol intoxication and alcohol expectancy affects how accurately women remember consensual and non-consensual sexual activity that occurred during an interactive hypothetical dating scenario.

Design

A balanced placebo randomized study that varied alcohol dose (mean Breath Alcohol Content; BrAC = 0.06%) and alcohol expectancy prior to participants encoding a hypothetical interactive rape scenario was implemented. Participants could elect to consent to sexual activity with a male partner in the hypothetical scenario. If they stopped consenting, non-consensual sexual intercourse (i.e., rape) was described. Seven days later, participants' memory for consensual and non-consensual sexual activity in the scenario was tested.

Main outcome measures

Memory accuracy, confidence, and feelings of intoxication.

Results

A total of 90 females (M age = 20.5, SD = 2.2) were tested regarding their memory accuracy for the consensual and non-consensual sexual activities in the scenario. A multi-level logistic regression predicting memory accuracy for the perpetrator's behaviors during the rape indicated no effect of alcohol intoxication. However, a main effect of alcohol expectancy was found, whereby participants who expected to consume alcohol, compared to those who did not, recalled the perpetrator's behaviors during the rape more accurately. A second regression predicting memory accuracy for consensual sexual activity found no main effects for alcohol intoxication or alcohol expectancy. Participants recalled consensual sexual activity with a high degree of accuracy. Calibration analyses indicated that accuracy increased with confidence level, regardless of intoxication level or alcohol expectancy condition, but that women tended to be overconfident in general.

Conclusion

This study provides an important test of how accurately women remember consensual and non-consensual sexual activities. The accuracy of this information is important for forensic medical examinations and police investigations following an allegation of sexual assault. Increased memory accuracy was found for offence details when participants expected to consume alcohol, suggesting there may be important differences in attentional processes (e.g., hypervigilance) depending on whether threat is present. Further research is necessary to investigate memory for sexual violence in real-world settings and to test methods for ascertaining the most complete and reliable accounts.

Alcohol Use Severity, Anger and Drinking Motives among Firefighters

Background: Firefighters represent an understudied population with high rates of hazardous alcohol use and alcohol use disorder. This population is also at an increased risk of mental health disorders and related symptoms such as anger. Anger is a relatively understudied negative mood state with clinical relevance to alcohol use among firefighters. Anger is associated with greater alcohol use and may spur more approach-motivated reasons for drinking compared to other negative emotions. Objectives: This study sought to examine: 1. whether anger significantly contributes to alcohol use severity in firefighters above and beyond general negative mood; 2. which of four validated drinking motives (e.g., coping, social, enhancement and conformity) act as moderators in the relationship between anger and alcohol use severity in this population. The current study is a secondary analysis of data from a larger study examining health and stress behaviors among firefighters (N = 679) at a large urban fire department in the southern United States. Results: Results revealed that anger was positively associated with alcohol use severity, even after controlling for general negative mood. Further, social and enhancement motives for drinking were significant moderators of the relationship between anger and alcohol use severity. Conclusions: These findings identify anger specifically as an important factor to be considered when assessing alcohol use in firefighters, especially those who are drinking to make social experiences more enjoyable or to enhance their mood. These findings can be used to inform more specialized interventions for alcohol use by targeting anger more specifically in firefighters and other male-dominated first-responder populations.

Correlates of Social Reactions to Victims' Disclosures of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review

Sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) are common experiences in women, but few studies have examined correlates of social reactions experienced by victims telling others about assault. This systematic review identified 30 studies through searches of research databases on correlates of social reactions to disclosure of sexual assault or IPV in samples of adult victims or disclosure recipients. Studies showed evidence of greater negative social reactions for Black and Hispanic victims, less educated, and bisexual victims. More extensive trauma histories in victims were related to receipt of greater negative social reactions, whereas assault characteristics (e.g., victim-offender relationship, alcohol use, perpetrator violence during assault) were sometimes associated with negative reactions. In terms of postassault factors, more psychological symptoms, self-blame, avoidance coping, less perceived control, and less posttraumatic growth were related to more negative social reactions. Disclosure characteristics, telling informal sources, and telling more sources were related to more positive reactions, whereas telling both formal and informal sources was related to negative reactions. Demographic, attitudinal, and relational factors were related to disclosure recipients' intended social reactions. Future research needs to examine how various factors relate to social reactions in the context of theory, and clinical treatment and interventions should use this information to identify and intervene with victims to reduce negative social reactions and their psychological impacts and to increase positive social reactions particularly from informal support sources.

Posttraumatic cognitions and sexual assault: Understanding the role of cognition type in posttraumatic stress symptoms and problematic alcohol use

Identifying potential mechanisms underlying the association between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and problematic alcohol use is an important target among college women who have experienced sexual assault. This study examined the role of posttraumatic cognitions in this association among college women (N = 530) who experienced either an alcohol-involved assault or non-alcohol-involved assault, using baseline assessment data from a larger study examining cognitive and emotional risk factors for problem drinking. Conditional path analysis was used to examine the indirect effects of posttraumatic cognitions on the association between PTSS and alcohol use consequences, with assault type as a moderator. The findings revealed a significant indirect path from PTSS to alcohol use consequences through posttraumatic cognitions, B = 0.21, SE = 0.04, p < .001, 95% CI [0.13, 0.29], β = .16, R² = .32. Exploratory analyses revealed a significant conditional indirect effect through self-blame cognitions, R² = .31, whereby the indirect effect of self-blame on the association between posttraumatic stress and alcohol consequences was present among participants who experienced alcohol-involved assault, B = 0.10, SE = 0.03, p < .001, 95% CI [0.06, 0.16], β = .07, but not among those who experienced a non-alcohol-involved assault, B = 0.03, SE = 0.03, p = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.02, 0.08], β = .02. Posttraumatic cognitions are a potential mechanism underlying the link between posttraumatic stress and alcohol consequences. Addressing posttraumatic cognitions, particularly those related to self-blame, may be an important target for interventions promoting healthy recovery following alcohol-involved assault.

Binegativity Exacerbates the Effects of Sexual Victimization Disclosure on Posttraumatic Stress and Drinking Among Bisexual Women

Bisexual women experience higher rates of sexual victimization and mental health problems compared to heterosexual and lesbian women. Bisexual women also receive more unsupportive or overtly negative reactions when they disclose experiences of sexual victimization. The current study aimed to examine the interaction of negative social reactions and binegativity (i.e., experiences of stigma due to bisexual identity) in predicting posttraumatic stress, depression, and hazardous drinking among bisexual women. The sample consisted of 161 young adult bisexual women (ages 18-35) who disclosed a sexual victimization experience to at least one person. Moderation analyses were conducted via the PROCESS macro for SPSS. "Turning against" reactions to disclosure (e.g., victim blame and avoidance of the victim) predicted increased posttraumatic stress and hazardous drinking in the presence of binegativity. In addition, reactions to disclosure that acknowledged the experience but were unsupportive predicted increased drinking in the context of binegativity. Depression was not associated with either type of negative reactions, regardless of binegativity. Thus, findings suggest that binegativity in combination with negative responses to disclosure of sexual victimization are important factors in specific types of distress related to sexual violence among bisexual women. Implications for research, clinical intervention, and policy are discussed.

A Pilot Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve Social Reactions to Sexual and Partner Violence Disclosures

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an intervention (Supporting Survivors and Self [SSS]) created to increase positive social reactions and decrease negative social reactions to sexual assault and partner violence disclosures among informal support disclosure recipients. Participants were 1,268 college students from a medium-sized New England university who completed an online baseline survey and were assigned to either the treatment or control condition. The SSS intervention trained potential informal supports on what to say and not to say to disclosure recipients. Six months after the SSS intervention, participants in both conditions completed the follow-up survey online. Although intentions to provide positive social reactions significantly increased among participants in the treatment group compared with the control group and there were marginally significant effects in the anticipated directions for alcohol-specific intended social reactions, no overall difference was observed across conditions in actual social reactions provided. Moderation analyses suggested that, in general, the SSS intervention was more effective on various outcomes for students who were younger, male, non-White, sexual minorities, and/or non-victims. Moderation analyses also suggested that the intervention varied in efficacy depending on the circumstances of the disclosure. Despite the mixed outcomes of the SSS intervention, these data suggest that the SSS intervention was effective in improving social reactions for some students and under some circumstances. Future research is needed to further refine the SSS intervention to bolster its effectiveness in reducing negative social reactions and increasing positive social reactions for all students.

Predictors of Disclosure Recipients' Social Reactions to Victims' Disclosures of Dating and Sexual Violence: A Longitudinal Study of College Students

Dating violence (DV) and sexual violence (SV) are pernicious issues among college students that lead to deleterious outcomes, which are more likely when victims receive more negative social reactions (e.g., blaming the victim) and fewer positive social reactions to disclosure (e.g., providing emotional support). Most research studies have examined victims' reports of social reactions to their assault disclosures, with only a few cross-sectional studies of predictors of disclosure recipients' provision of positive and negative social reactions to victims. The purpose of the current study was to address these gaps in the literature. Participants were 481 college students (76.4% women, 89.2% White/Non-Hispanic) who reported being a disclosure recipient during the past six months (measured at Time 2 to cross-sectionally and longitudinally predict their social reactions to victims' disclosures). Results suggested that both victim and disclosure recipient characteristics (e.g., gender, race), disclosure recipient perceptions of victims (e.g., empathy for victim, blame of victim, victims' coping) and both disclosure recipient and victim behavior at the time of disclosure (e.g., drinking, distress) were related to disclosure recipient social reactions. These findings underscore the need for programs for potential informal disclosure recipients that target psychological variables (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) and behavior at the time of disclosure, as well as their perceptions of victims more generally, in addition to improving their knowledge and ability to respond with positive social reactions and avoid negative social reactions.

Latent Profiles of Social Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure Among Undergraduate Women

The types of social reactions that victims receive when they disclose experiences of sexual assault are important for post-trauma recovery. Using a person-centered analytic approach, we identified latent profiles based upon the nature of two types of negative (turning against and unsupportive acknowledgment) and two types of positive (emotional support and informational/tangible aid) reactions received by 300 undergraduate women who disclosed sexual assault. Analyses identified four latent profiles characterized by (a) moderate emotional support/low negative reactions, (b) moderate emotional support/moderate negative reactions, (c) high positive/some unsupportive acknowledgment reactions, and (d) moderate positive/high negative reactions. Differences between the profiles in sexual assault acknowledgment, self- and perpetrator-blame, and some assault-related characteristics (victim injury but not victim or perpetrator intoxication) were identified. Group comparisons revealed that the two profiles characterized by greater negative reactions reported greater posttraumatic stress, whereas the profile characterized by moderate support/moderate negative reactions reported greater depression. No differences were identified for hazardous alcohol use. Findings highlight the importance of addressing negative reactions to sexual assault disclosure as potential barriers to recovery. Colleges may benefit from programming targeted at disclosure recipients as part of violence prevention efforts. A broader societal shift is also imperative to eliminate stigmatization of victims. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843211038924 .

A Mixed-Method Process Evaluation of an Intervention to Improve Social Reactions to Disclosures of Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse

Because of the high rates and deleterious consequences of sexual assault (SA) and partner abuse (PA) on college campuses, there is a proliferation of programming to both prevent and respond to these issues. Most research to date, however, presents outcome evaluation data on these programs and neglects to present process evaluation data which are critical for program refinement and dissemination. The purpose of this study was to present process evaluation data (i.e., acceptability and feasibility) specific to a program that endeavored to increase positive and decrease negative social reactions from disclosure recipients to individuals disclosing SA and PA. Participants were 303 students who completed the program and participated in postintervention surveys and a subset of students (n = 18) who completed exit interviews. Results documented that the program was both feasible and acceptable, as evidenced by high satisfaction ratings. Important suggestions were also provided for how to improve the program, such as reducing repetition and making scenarios more realistic. Finally, participants who reported higher program engagement and more program usage generally reported more intentions to provide positive social reactions, less intentions to provide negative social reactions, and less actual negative social reactions. This information is useful not only for adapting the current program discussed herein but also for program developers and preventionists wishing to create similar programming to effectively prevent and improve response to SA and PA.

Alcohol's Role in Social Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosures: A Qualitative Study of Informal Support Dyads

Studies of informal support dyads are lacking to understand the disclosure of sexual assaults and social reactions informal supporters make to survivors. This study of 19 informal support dyads using interview data examined how three relationship types-significant others (i.e., romantic partners), family, and friends-differ in social reactions to sexual assaults in the context of drinking or alcohol problems. It was expected that alcohol's role in responses to such disclosures would differ depending on relationship type as well as role alcohol played in the assault and/or in the survivor's life or those in her social network, including the perpetrator. Results show that alcohol has mixed effects and that alcohol-related assaults as well as contexts where survivors, perpetrators, and/or their support networks have alcohol problems need further study to understand how such disclosures and social reactions occur and the impact they have on survivors, their relationships, and recovery.

Acute Stress Symptoms After Forcible and Substance-Involved Rapes

In the early aftermath of a sexual assault, survivors often experience symptoms of distress including reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms. However, less is known about associations between rape characteristics and the nature of early reactions. We designed the current study to examine the unique and combined associations between force and substances during rape on acute stress symptoms. Participants were 56 women (ages 18 to 58) who completed a sexual assault medical forensic exam in the emergency department within 120 hours of the rape and then completed a follow-up clinical phone screening within 30 days of the forensic exam. Follow-up assessments included characteristics of the recent rape (force, substances), history of prior sexual assault, demographics, and symptoms of acute stress. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for prior sexual assault, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity, there were no significant differences on any symptom cluster by rape type. However, this study involved a small, difficult-to-reach sample and, therefore, was only powered to detect large effect sizes. We encourage more research examining potentially unique, early symptom presentations for substance-involved rapes.

Social reactions to disclosure of interpersonal violence and psychopathology: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Public attention has been increasingly paid to how friends, family members, and others can best support survivors of sexual assault and other forms of violence. The broader social support literature posits that perceiving social support positively is more important to mental health than the degree to which social support is actually received, and that negative interactions with social supporters are more harmful than positive interactions are helpful (potentially because negative reactions violate survivors' expectations of their social supporters). This may be especially true after a crisis, such as interpersonal violence. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes the literature on social reactions to interpersonal violence. Meta-regression analyses were performed on 1871 correlations from 51 studies reflecting the degree to which receiving specific reactions more frequently, or perceiving reactions more positively, was associated with psychopathology. Results indicated that negative social reactions to disclosure-especially reactions involving controlling, distracting, and treating survivors differently-were associated with worse psychopathology, whereas positive social reactions did not appear to be protective. Perceiving reactions more positively was associated with less severe psychopathology, but (although causation cannot be concluded) positive perceptions' potential benefit appeared to be smaller than the potential risk conveyed by negative reactions. These findings indicate that interventions which reduce the degree to which survivors receive negative social reactions are needed.

Asian American Women Sexual Assault Survivors' Choice of Coping Strategies: The Role of Post-Assault Cognitive Responses

Even though approximately one in three Asian American (AA) and Pacific Islander women experience sexual assault victimization, there is a dearth of literature examining how AA women sexual assault survivors cope with this traumatic experience. This study examined AA female sexual assault survivors' choice of coping strategies post-assault and how their cognitive responses toward sexual assault victimization (e.g., attributions of self-blame, perceived control over the recovery process) relate to their use of coping strategies. Using the AA subsets of two large community studies, a total of 64 AA women ages 18 to 58 with unwanted sexual experiences after the age of 14 years were included in the analyses. Results indicated that AA survivors used Acceptance and Self-Distraction the most to cope with sexual assault. In addition, those who perceived they had less control over their recovery process tended to use more maladaptive coping strategies, such as substance abuse and behavioral disengagement (e.g., giving up). Discussions include clinical implications and recommendations for using language, modalities, and foci of interventions that are consistent with clients' and their families' worldviews (e.g., indirect inquiries, solution-focused).

"I Still Feel Like I Am Not Normal": A Review of the Role of Stigma and Stigmatization Among Female Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, and Intimate Partner Violence

Child sexual abuse (CSA), sexual assault (SA), and intimate partner violence (IPV) occur within social contexts that shape how survivors judge themselves and are evaluated by others. Because these are gendered sexual and intimate crimes that violate social norms about what is appropriate and acceptable, survivors may experience stigma that includes victim-blaming messages from the broader society as well as specific stigmatizing reactions from others in response to disclosure; this stigmatization can be internalized among survivors as self-blame, shame, and anticipatory stigma. Stigma and stigmatization play an important role in shaping survivors' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as they recover; their risk of revictimization; and their help-seeking and attainment process. In this review, we synthesize recent CSA, SA, and IPV research ( N = 123) that examines female survivors' self-blame, shame, internalized stigma, and anticipatory stigma as well as negative social reactions in response to survivors' disclosure. We highlight critical findings as well as implications for research, practice, and policy, and we note gaps in our current knowledge.

An experimental examination of alcohol consumption, alcohol expectancy, and self-blame on willingness to report a hypothetical rape

This study experimentally examined the role of victim alcohol intoxication, and self-blame in perceiving and reporting rape to the police using a hypothetical interactive rape scenario. Participants (N = 79) were randomly assigned to consume alcohol (mean BAC = 0.07%) or tonic water before they engaged in the scenario. Alcohol expectancy was manipulated, and participant beliefs about the beverage they thought they had consumed and their feelings of intoxication were measured. Alcohol consumption and expectancy did not affect the likelihood that the nonconsensual intercourse depicted in the scenario was perceived and would be reported as rape. Participants with higher levels of self-blame were less likely to say they would report the hypothetical rape. Self-blame levels were higher for participants who believed they had consumed alcohol, and were associated with increased feelings of intoxication. The implications are discussed.

Exploring Correlates of Alcohol-Specific Social Reactions in Alcohol-Involved Sexual Assaults

Disclosing pre-assault drinking may influence reactions sexual assault survivors receive from their support networks. Such reactions likely affect survivor's post-assault adjustment. Thus, it is important to identify assault and disclosure characteristics related to disclosing one's drinking and receiving social reactions that specifically comment on pre-assault alcohol use. This exploratory study examined demographic, assault, and disclosure factors as predictors of both survivors' decisions to disclose their pre-assault alcohol use and social reactions survivors received related to their pre-assault alcohol use. Out of survivors who were drinking at the time of the assault, those with more education and who reported greater alcohol impairment or resistance during the assault were more likely to disclose pre-assault alcohol use. As expected, this study found that of women disclosing pre-assault drinking, those with more education and more violent assaults received more negative social reactions specifically commenting on their use of alcohol prior to the assault. Such negative reactions were more common for those telling parents, police, or medical professionals. Women with less education received more positive and negative social reactions that commented specifically on their use of alcohol prior to the assault. Interestingly, results showed that disclosing pre-assault alcohol use in greater detail was related to positive social reactions specific to preassault drinking and experiencing greater alcohol impairment at the time of the assault was associated with both positive and negative social reactions specific to pre-assault alcohol use. Implications for research and intervention are provided for survivors disclosing alcohol-related sexual assaults.

Longitudinal Effects of Sexual Assault Victims' Drinking and Self-Blame on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Alcohol plays a major role in sexual assaults, but few studies have examined its impact on recovery outcomes, particularly in longitudinal studies. In a longitudinal study of 1,013 adult sexual assault survivors, we investigated the effects of victim drinking on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as the mediating role of characterological and behavioral self-blame attributions. In line with some prior research, victims who were drinking before their assault experienced less PTSD, but more self-blame than those who were not. Characterological, but not behavioral self-blame was related to increased PTSD symptoms. Thus, although drinking was overall related to less PTSD, it was also associated with increased PTSD via self-blame attributions, highlighting the danger of blaming victims of alcohol-related rapes for their assaults. Implications for future research and clinical work with survivors of alcohol-related sexual assaults are drawn.