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PubMed1991

An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following human (Homo sapiens) rape: IV. The effect of the nature of the sexual assault.

Mental pain is hypothesized to manifest an adaptation for analyzing and coping with social problems that would have reduced inclusive fitness in human (Homo sapiens) evolutionary history. We examined this hypothesis in the psychological pain of 790 rape victims. Reproductive-aged and postreproductive-aged victims were more likely than prereproductive-aged victims to have experienced vaginal intercourse and to have had sperm present in the reproductive tract. As predicted, vaginal intercourse constituted the most psychologically devastating form of sexual assault for reproductive-aged women. Nonreproductive-aged victims were not more traumatized by vaginal rapes. When rapes included ejaculation in the victim's reproductive tract, reproductive-aged victims may have been more traumatized. These results suggest that the psychology that regulates mental pain processes information about the nature of the sexual act in the event of a woman's rape.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Understanding the psychological impact of rape and serious sexual assault of men: a literature review.

Until recently, very little attention has been paid to male victims of sexual abuse in childhood and male victims of rape and sexual assault in adulthood. Increasingly, researchers and clinicians are turning their attention to the particular problems encountered by male victims of abuse and sexual assault. Recent changes in British Law have acknowledged the existence of rape of male victims and have highlighted the need to identify the number of male victims of sexual assault and plan appropriate clinical services. A review of the literature reveals very little British empirical research on the psychological impact of rape upon male victims, although the studies that have been carried out provide clear evidence of a wide range of psychological consequences, both in the immediate period following the assault and in the long-term. Differences and similarities with female victims of rape are discussed. The particular problems encountered by male victims mean that they are even less likely than female victims to report an assault; when they do seek help the most pervasive themes that emerge from the literature concern their problems in reconciling their masculine identity with their experience of being a sexual victim. Issues concerning treatment of male victims are also discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Rape attitudes amongst British medical students.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the rape attitudes of a sample of 252 British medical students. DESIGN: A 20-item questionnaire was used. SETTING: A London medical school. SUBJECTS: Fourth-year medical students. RESULTS: In general, students were well informed on legal and factual issues regarding rape and sexual assault. However, significant differences were found in the attitudes to rape between males and females. Female students were significantly more positive in their responses to victims. CONCLUSIONS: These results support findings from previous studies of rape attitudes in other professional groups. Better knowledge and enlightened attitudes amongst health care staff can have a significant impact on the management of sexual assault and influence the likelihood of victims presenting for treatment. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of teaching about sexual violence in British medical schools.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Healthy dating: a mixed-gender date rape workshop.

College communities are increasingly being called upon to institute date rape prevention programs. This article describes a mixed-gender workshop sponsored by a university's Program for Rape Education and Prevention that was given to more than 1,400 undergraduate students in more than 80 presentations. In order to guide modifications of the workshop, formative evaluation data collected from 330 male (mean age 20.3 years) and 314 female (mean age 20.5 years) university students were collected. Results were largely positive. Despite the sensitive nature of the topic, only 10.2% of the men and 8.2% of the women reported being uncomfortable discussing date rape in mixed-gender groups. Furthermore, students were virtually unanimous in their agreement that date rape is a topic worthy of a workshop.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The aftermath of rape. Profiles of immediate and delayed treatment seekers.

Seventy-eight sexual assault victims who sought treatment within 1 month of their assaults were compared with 40 victims who delayed seeking treatment. Demographic, rape situation, and psychiatric history characteristics were examined as were postrape symptom profiles and responses to treatment. More of the delayed treatment seekers were raped by a "friend," and fewer used physical means to defend themselves against the assailant. With respect to symptomatology, delayed treatment seekers reported considerable rape-related distress and were more anxious and significantly more fearful than were recent rape victims. Implications for clinical practice and for the tailoring of services for victims of sexual assault are suggested.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1976

Follow-up of rape victims in a family practice setting.

Health care for rape victims traditionally has been crisis oriented, focused solely upon the victim, and provided either by a gynecologist or psychiatrist. A family practice health team, working in a county hospital, offered rape victims and their families crisis counseling in the emergency room, and follow-up care in a family practice clinic. Follow-up of victims markedly increased from 8% before initiation of the program to 86% afterward. Family members of more than half of the victims seen on follow-up received treatment. A wide range of health needs of both victims and their families, not identified in the emergency room, was identified on follow-up visits. In this way emergency care of the rape victim often became an entry point into the health care system. Rape must be viewed as a family's as well as victim's health problem, often demanding a broader service than can be offered by a gynecologist or psychiatrist alone.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1994

Deceiving others/deceiving oneself: four cases of factitious rape.

Although patients with factitious disorders typically seek the "patient" role through illness portrayals, some instead portray themselves falsely as "victims." We discuss the cases of four women who claimed to have been victims of rape; the allegations ultimately were disproved. Factitious rape may be prompted by a search for nurturance; by dissociation, leading individuals to believe that trauma earlier in life is ongoing; by a need to be rescued from real, current abuse; and by projection of anger onto specific male targets. Although dramatic, factitious rape is rare, we advocate thorough investigation of rape claims even when patients have known histories of deceptive behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Reliability reporting practices in rape myth research.

A number of school-based programs address sexual violence by focusing on adolescents' attitudes about rape or acceptance of rape myths. However, many problems exist in the literature regarding measurement of rape myth acceptance, including issues of reliability and validity. This paper addresses measurement reliability issues and reviews reliability reporting practices of studies using the Burt Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Less than one-half of the 68 articles examined reported reliability coefficients for the data collected. Almost one-third of the studies did not mention reliability. Examples of acceptable reliability reporting are provided. It is argued that reliability coefficients for the data actually analyzed should always be assessed and reported when interpreting program results. Implicationsfor school health research and practice are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Asking what before we ask why: taxonomy, etiology, and rape.

This article presents a spectrum of sexual coersion. By looking at the social meaning of the different acts of coercion along the spectrum, the author suggests that most acts of sexual coercion can be classified as either rape (a sexual act with intent to do harm to the victim) or sex (a sexual act engaged in without any intent to harm the victim). Ironically, though, the author suggests that the most and least egregious acts of sexual aggression, that is, the acts we most readily identify as rape and the acts we are most reluctant to label rape are the ones that most easily evade explanation as either rape or sex.

Coercion↗
PubMed1979

The aftermath of rape: recent empirical findings.

In a longitudinal study of the effects of rape on a woman's subsequent psychological functioning, objective measures of mood state and psychological distress were obtained at four intervals from 46 recent rape victims and 35 nonvictims. Initial response to rape was characterized by intense generalized distress. Three months and six months later, this distress had diminished, leaving a residual of fear and anxiety problems that were clearly rape-related. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Using colposcopy in the rape exam: health care, forensic, and criminal justice issues.

In the setting of a forensic examination following rape, colposcopy allows practitioners to identify and photograph genital injury not readily visible to the unaided eye, thereby clarifying the location and extent of injury as well as providing evidence for court proceedings. Since the 1980s, the technique once reserved for victims of child abuse has been used across the lifespan and has been shown to identify genital injury in up to 87% of women who have been raped. The role of colposcopic findings as evidence in court testimony, however, remains controversial. This paper explores the history of colposcopy in the rape exam and describes the epidemiology of genital injury in consensual sex as well as rape.

Colposcopy↗
PubMed1981

Victim emotional response: effects on social reaction to victims of rape.

Two studies examined the impact of variations in a rape victim's emotional reactions on others' perceptions of her. The victim was presented as emotionally expressive or emotionally controlled. In one study written descriptions were used, while in the second, videotape presentations were employed. In both studies, the emotionally expressive victim was rated as more credible. In the videotape presentation, additional differences indicated that the emotionally controlled victim is perceived as having less aversion for the rape and was liked less. Results are discussed in terms of observers' expectations concerning rape victim reactions and the social climate after a rape.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Women's experiences of and preferences for services after rape in South Africa: interview study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe aspects of delivery of health services after rape, including trade-offs, that would most influence choice of service, and to compare views of patients who had used such services with views of members of the community who may be future users or may have experienced barriers to service use. DESIGN: Discrete choice analysis of stated preferences with interviews. Attributes included travel time to the service, availability of HIV prophylaxis, number of returns to the hospital, medical examination, and counselling skills and attitude of the provider. SETTING: One rural and one urban site in South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: 319 women: 155 who had been raped and four carers recruited through health facilities and 160 comparable women recruited from the community. Of these, 156 were from an urban site and 163 from a rural site. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Strength of preferences over a range of attributes through the estimation of a benefit function through random effects probit modelling. RESULTS: Factors such as the availability of prophylactic treatment for HIV infection and having a sensitive healthcare provider who could provide counselling are more important in women's decisions to seek care after rape than the travel time necessary to access those services. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the need for holistic rape services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Coping behavior of the rape victim.

The coping behavior of rape victims can be analyzed in three distinct phases--the threat of attack, the attack itself, and the period immediately thereafter. The authors analyzed the reported coping behavior of 92 women diagnosed as having rape trauma. Most of the women used verbal, physical, or cognitive strategies when threatened, although 34 were physically or psychologically paralyzed. The actual rape prompted coping behaviors in all but 1 victim. Escaping the situation or the assailant is the primary task immediately after the attack. In counseling the rape victim, it is important to understand her individual style of coping, to be supportive of it, and to suggest alternatives for future stressful situations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

A follow-up study of rape victims.

Of 130 women initially seen in a general hospital emergency room after being raped, the authors were able to interview 41 of the women 1-21/2 years after the rape. Half of the women continued to fear being alone and three-quarters reported still being suspicious of others. Many also felt restricted in their daily lives and had self-reported episodes of depression and sexual problems, which they attributed to the rape; none had a history of mental or emotional disturbance. The authors recommend that short-term, issue-oriented therapy be made available for all rape victims, as well as resources for the treatment of long-term symptoms.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Fear of intimacy and attachment among rape survivors.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate attachment and fear of intimacy among rape survivors. As previous research has documented that several domains of functioning are affected by the experience of rape, it was hypothesized that the survivors may have difficulties with attachment and intimacy. Subjects were selected from an undergraduate general psychology class on the basis of responses to a questionnaire on sexual experiences. All of the subjects were female and included 44 rape survivors and 57 controls. As predicted, rape survivors reported greater fear surrounding intimacy. Survivors also differed from the controls on all of the attachment dimensions. They reported less confidence in others' dependability, less comfort with closeness, and more fear of abandonment. Trait anxiety was also controlled in the analyses, and except for fear of abandonment, it attenuated the differences between the groups such that they were no longer significantly different.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

A statewide evaluation of services provided to rape survivors.

This article presents the descriptive results of a statewide evaluation of hotline, advocacy, and counseling services provided to sexual assault victims in Illinois. Collaborative efforts of a multidisciplinary research team and sexual assault service providers resulted in victim-sensitive evaluation measures and data that reflect, for the first time, the collective impact of services on rape victims across the state of Illinois. Results of the evaluation suggest that, overall, services provided to rape victims provided support, increased information and knowledge, and helped victims to understand options and make decisions. The evaluation approach is notable for its collaborative nature and its sensitivity to rape victims during help-seeking and delivery; however, due to the high levels of distress common among rape survivors, some evaluation methods may not be appropriate for crisis intervention services such as hotline or advocacy. Implications for future evaluation research and policy are noted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Empirically enhanced reflections on 20 years of rape research.

Using PsychInfo review of rape and sexual assault publications, the period of greatest fertility coincided with the establishment (1975) and demise (1987) of the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape. To document what has been learned and when, the era in which new rape concepts entered the literature is summarized and important developments highlighted. Then, new investigations that are urgently needed are elaborated. The author expresses concern that current federal investment is insufficient to sustain and expand a science workforce adequate to the tasks ahead. Since 1995, more than 1 billion US dollars have been awarded to prosecutors, law enforcement, and community agencies to assist victims of violence. In contrast, between 1996 and 2003, only 14 of 178 (7%) of investigator-initiated grants funded by the Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for violence against women had titles pairing the word sexual with assault, violence, abuse, or rape.

Crime Victims↗