Jonathan W Reeves, Angela B Simler, Emily R Dworkin
{"title":"Survivor Perceptions of Supporters' Social Reactions in the Initial Months Following Sexual Assault: A Daily Diary Study.","authors":"Jonathan W Reeves, Angela B Simler, Emily R Dworkin","doi":"10.1177/08862605251345464","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sexual assault survivors receive a variety of positive and negative social reactions when they seek support from friends, family, or others close to them (i.e., informal supporters). However, past research demonstrates that survivors' perceptions of these social reactions are more varied than suggested by their traditional categorization as \"positive\" or \"negative.\" Although survivors experiencing elevated posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alcohol use may be at especially high risk of receiving \"negative\" reactions and experiencing poorer recovery outcomes, it is unclear to what degree these survivors vary in how they perceive these early reactions. Thus, the study objective was to characterize how survivors with elevated PTS and alcohol use perceive social reactions received from informal supporters during day-to-day assault-related interactions in the initial months after sexual assault. Adult female survivors of past-10-week sexual assault with elevated PTS and alcohol use (<i>N</i> = 41) completed a baseline assessment and daily diaries over 21 days as part of a larger mHealth clinical trial. Results indicated that survivors' perceptions of the social reactions they received during this early period varied considerably. Findings also indicated that survivors were more likely to perceive an interaction overall as upsetting when the specific \"negative\" reactions of controlling and infantilization were present. This suggests that specific reactions hold more sway over a survivor's perception of a given interaction than others and further reinforces that there is no one-size-fits-all characterization of how survivors perceive the social reactions they receive when discussing their sexual assault with others.</p>","PeriodicalId":16289,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Interpersonal Violence","volume":" ","pages":"8862605251345464"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Interpersonal Violence","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605251345464","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Sexual assault survivors receive a variety of positive and negative social reactions when they seek support from friends, family, or others close to them (i.e., informal supporters). However, past research demonstrates that survivors' perceptions of these social reactions are more varied than suggested by their traditional categorization as "positive" or "negative." Although survivors experiencing elevated posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alcohol use may be at especially high risk of receiving "negative" reactions and experiencing poorer recovery outcomes, it is unclear to what degree these survivors vary in how they perceive these early reactions. Thus, the study objective was to characterize how survivors with elevated PTS and alcohol use perceive social reactions received from informal supporters during day-to-day assault-related interactions in the initial months after sexual assault. Adult female survivors of past-10-week sexual assault with elevated PTS and alcohol use (N = 41) completed a baseline assessment and daily diaries over 21 days as part of a larger mHealth clinical trial. Results indicated that survivors' perceptions of the social reactions they received during this early period varied considerably. Findings also indicated that survivors were more likely to perceive an interaction overall as upsetting when the specific "negative" reactions of controlling and infantilization were present. This suggests that specific reactions hold more sway over a survivor's perception of a given interaction than others and further reinforces that there is no one-size-fits-all characterization of how survivors perceive the social reactions they receive when discussing their sexual assault with others.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Interpersonal Violence is devoted to the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of interpersonal violence. It provides a forum of discussion of the concerns and activities of professionals and researchers working in domestic violence, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, physical child abuse, and violent crime. With its dual focus on victims and victimizers, the journal will publish material that addresses the causes, effects, treatment, and prevention of all types of violence. JIV only publishes reports on individual studies in which the scientific method is applied to the study of some aspect of interpersonal violence. Research may use qualitative or quantitative methods. JIV does not publish reviews of research, individual case studies, or the conceptual analysis of some aspect of interpersonal violence. Outcome data for program or intervention evaluations must include a comparison or control group.