Military sexual trauma refers to both sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurs in militar... more Military sexual trauma refers to both sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurs in military settings. Both men and women can experience military sexual trauma and the perpetrator can be of the same or of the opposite gender. A general definition of sexual harassment is unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that occurs in the workplace or an academic or training setting. Sexual harassment includes gender harassment (e.g., put you down because of your gender), unwanted sexual attention (e.g., made offensive remarks about your sexual activities or your body) and sexual coercion (e.g., implied special treatment if you were sexually cooperative). Sexual assault is any sort of sexual activity between at least two people in which one of the people is involved against his or her will. Physical force may or may not be used. The sexual activity involved can include many different experiences including unwanted touching, grabbing, oral sex, anal sex, sexual penetration...
Women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in some work settings than others; specific... more Women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in some work settings than others; specifically, work settings that have a large proportion of male workers, include a predominance of male supervisors, and represent traditional male occupations may be places in which there is greater tolerance for sexual harassment. The focus of the study was to document attitudes toward women among military personnel, to identify demographic and military characteristics associated with more positive attitudes toward women, and to examine associations between attitudes toward women and tolerance for sexual harassment. The study was based on data from 2,037 male and female former Reservists who reported minimal or no experiences of sexual harassment and no sexual assault in the military. Results suggest that attitudes toward women vary across content domains, are associated with several key demographic and military characteristics, and predict tolerance for sexual harassment. Implications of the...
Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is... more Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is not surprising that an extensive scientific literature has developed on predictors of victims' decisions about making a formal report to authorities about their experiences. In contrast, little empirical work has focused on how reporting affects victims, particularly their psychosocial well-being. This study used a national sample of 1,562 former military Reservists who had experienced sexual harassment during their service to examine the relationship between reporting; experiences reporting; and psychosocial well-being, as indicated by post-harassment functioning, worst symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the harassment, and current symptoms of depression. Making a formal report was not associated with well-being, but among those who did report, perceiving that the report had resulted in the harassment being addressed by authorities was associated with better post-harassment functioning and fewer symptoms of PTSD. Satisfaction with the reporting process showed the strongest association with well-being, demonstrating small but meaningful associations with depression and medium-to-large and medium associations with post-harassment functioning and PTSD, respectively. Although findings did not vary by gender, predictors accounted for more variance in well-being for men than women. In the whole sample, satisfaction with the reporting process mediated the relationship between victims' perceptions of system responsiveness to the report and post-harassment functioning and PTSD. Findings suggest that a victim's perceptions of and satisfaction with the reporting process may impact well-being more strongly than whether the victim made a report to authorities. Men may be even more strongly impacted by their experiences with the reporting process than women.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2011
The authors conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies investigating associations between ind... more The authors conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies investigating associations between indices of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intimate relationship problems to empirically synthesize this literature. Method: A literature search using PsycINFO, Medline, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS), and Dissertation Abstracts was performed. The authors identified 31 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Results: True score correlations (p) revealed medium sized associations between PTSD and intimate relationship discord (p = .38, N = 7,973, K = 21), intimate relationship physical aggression perpetration (p = .42, N = 4,630, K = 19), and intimate relationship psychological aggression perpetration (p = .36, N = 1,501, K = 10). The strength of the association between PTSD and relationship discord was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, and when the study was conducted in the United States (vs. other country), and the study represented a doctoral dissertation (vs. published article). The strength of the association between PTSD and physical aggression was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, males (vs. females), community (vs. clinical) samples, studies examining PTSD symptom severity (vs. diagnosis), when the physical aggression measure focused exclusively on severe violence (vs. a more inclusive measure), and the study was published (vs. dissertation). For the PTSD-psychological aggression association, 98% of the variance was accounted for by methodological artifacts such as sampling and measurement error; consequently, no moderators were examined in this relationship. Conclusions: Findings highlight a need for the examination of models explaining the relationship difficulties associated with PTSD symptomatology and interventions designed to treat problems in both areas.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2001
This article summarizes the results of the Ohio University Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Project,... more This article summarizes the results of the Ohio University Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Project, which is a program designed to reduce college women's risk for sexual assault The program was evaluated at 2 separate universities with 762 women. Participants were randomly assigned either to the program or to the no-treatment comparison group, and they completed measures that assessed sexual victimization, dating behaviors, sexual communication, and rape empathy at the pretest and at the 2-month and 6-month follow-ups. At the 2-month follow-up, there were no differences between the groups on any of the outcome measures. However, those women who were moderately victimized during the 2-month follow-up were significantly less likely to be revictimized during the 6-month follow-up period if they participated in the program. Federal mandates require that all colleges and universities offer sexual assault prevention programming (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, 1994); however, little research has been conducted to document their effectiveness. Whereas the majority of programs have focused on rape-related attitudes and cognitions (see Breitenbecher, 2000, for a review), with only a few exceptions (e.g., Hanson & Gidycz, 1993), program evaluators have not assessed self-reported sexual victimization and aggression in participants. Gidycz and colleagues have systematically developed sexual assault prevention and risk reduction programs and evaluated their impact on both attitudes and behavior (
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2002
This study compared the reports of satanic, sexual, and physical abuse of persons instructed to r... more This study compared the reports of satanic, sexual, and physical abuse of persons instructed to role-play either dissociative identity disorder (DID) (n = 33), major depression (n = 33), or a college student who experienced minor adjustment problems ("normal") (n = 33) across a number of trials that included role-played hypnosis. As hypothesized, more of the participants who were asked to role-play DID reported at least one instance of satanic ritual abuse and sexual abuse compared with those who role-played depression or a college student with minor adjustment problems. DID role-players reported more incidents of sexual abuse and more severe physical and sexual abuse than did the major depression role-players. Further, the DID roleplayers differed from the normal role-players on all the measures of frequency and severity of physical and sexual abuse. Participants in all groups reported more frequent and severe incidents of physical abuse after role-played hypnosis than they did prior to it. One of the dominant views of the genesis of dissociative identity disorder (DID) is that it is a posttraumatic condition that results ". .. from overwhelming childhood experiences, usually severe child abuse" (Gleaves, 1996, p. 42). According to the posttraumatic or "disease model," the dramatic symptoms of DID include alterations or sudden switches in behaviors and affect that are the by-product of the interaction of dissociated elements of the personality that, at times, vie for control and dominance. These dissociated aspects of the personality are alleged to contain repressed memories of traumatic abuse that are often only available for conscious inspection when special techniques such as hypnosis are used. Presumably, only when such memories are uncovered and "resolved" can a complete cure be effected (see van der Hart & Friedman, 1989). In stark contrast to the disease model, the sociocognitive model
This study is a prospective longitudinal examination of symptoms of drug and alcohol use (SUD) an... more This study is a prospective longitudinal examination of symptoms of drug and alcohol use (SUD) and PTSD symptoms in 1006 veterans in the 6 years (T3) following return from the Persian Gulf War (PGW). Both alcohol and drug use at T3 were significantly correlated with demographic variables and all three types of PTSD symptoms (reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal) as measured at T2. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the self-medication hypothesis, which was supported for drug use but not for alcohol use at T3.
Military sexual trauma refers to both sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurs in militar... more Military sexual trauma refers to both sexual harassment and sexual assault that occurs in military settings. Both men and women can experience military sexual trauma and the perpetrator can be of the same or of the opposite gender. A general definition of sexual harassment is unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that occurs in the workplace or an academic or training setting. Sexual harassment includes gender harassment (e.g., put you down because of your gender), unwanted sexual attention (e.g., made offensive remarks about your sexual activities or your body) and sexual coercion (e.g., implied special treatment if you were sexually cooperative). Sexual assault is any sort of sexual activity between at least two people in which one of the people is involved against his or her will. Physical force may or may not be used. The sexual activity involved can include many different experiences including unwanted touching, grabbing, oral sex, anal sex, sexual penetration...
Women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in some work settings than others; specific... more Women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in some work settings than others; specifically, work settings that have a large proportion of male workers, include a predominance of male supervisors, and represent traditional male occupations may be places in which there is greater tolerance for sexual harassment. The focus of the study was to document attitudes toward women among military personnel, to identify demographic and military characteristics associated with more positive attitudes toward women, and to examine associations between attitudes toward women and tolerance for sexual harassment. The study was based on data from 2,037 male and female former Reservists who reported minimal or no experiences of sexual harassment and no sexual assault in the military. Results suggest that attitudes toward women vary across content domains, are associated with several key demographic and military characteristics, and predict tolerance for sexual harassment. Implications of the...
Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is... more Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is not surprising that an extensive scientific literature has developed on predictors of victims' decisions about making a formal report to authorities about their experiences. In contrast, little empirical work has focused on how reporting affects victims, particularly their psychosocial well-being. This study used a national sample of 1,562 former military Reservists who had experienced sexual harassment during their service to examine the relationship between reporting; experiences reporting; and psychosocial well-being, as indicated by post-harassment functioning, worst symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the harassment, and current symptoms of depression. Making a formal report was not associated with well-being, but among those who did report, perceiving that the report had resulted in the harassment being addressed by authorities was associated with better post-harassment functioning and fewer symptoms of PTSD. Satisfaction with the reporting process showed the strongest association with well-being, demonstrating small but meaningful associations with depression and medium-to-large and medium associations with post-harassment functioning and PTSD, respectively. Although findings did not vary by gender, predictors accounted for more variance in well-being for men than women. In the whole sample, satisfaction with the reporting process mediated the relationship between victims' perceptions of system responsiveness to the report and post-harassment functioning and PTSD. Findings suggest that a victim's perceptions of and satisfaction with the reporting process may impact well-being more strongly than whether the victim made a report to authorities. Men may be even more strongly impacted by their experiences with the reporting process than women.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2011
The authors conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies investigating associations between ind... more The authors conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies investigating associations between indices of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intimate relationship problems to empirically synthesize this literature. Method: A literature search using PsycINFO, Medline, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS), and Dissertation Abstracts was performed. The authors identified 31 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Results: True score correlations (p) revealed medium sized associations between PTSD and intimate relationship discord (p = .38, N = 7,973, K = 21), intimate relationship physical aggression perpetration (p = .42, N = 4,630, K = 19), and intimate relationship psychological aggression perpetration (p = .36, N = 1,501, K = 10). The strength of the association between PTSD and relationship discord was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, and when the study was conducted in the United States (vs. other country), and the study represented a doctoral dissertation (vs. published article). The strength of the association between PTSD and physical aggression was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, males (vs. females), community (vs. clinical) samples, studies examining PTSD symptom severity (vs. diagnosis), when the physical aggression measure focused exclusively on severe violence (vs. a more inclusive measure), and the study was published (vs. dissertation). For the PTSD-psychological aggression association, 98% of the variance was accounted for by methodological artifacts such as sampling and measurement error; consequently, no moderators were examined in this relationship. Conclusions: Findings highlight a need for the examination of models explaining the relationship difficulties associated with PTSD symptomatology and interventions designed to treat problems in both areas.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2001
This article summarizes the results of the Ohio University Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Project,... more This article summarizes the results of the Ohio University Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Project, which is a program designed to reduce college women's risk for sexual assault The program was evaluated at 2 separate universities with 762 women. Participants were randomly assigned either to the program or to the no-treatment comparison group, and they completed measures that assessed sexual victimization, dating behaviors, sexual communication, and rape empathy at the pretest and at the 2-month and 6-month follow-ups. At the 2-month follow-up, there were no differences between the groups on any of the outcome measures. However, those women who were moderately victimized during the 2-month follow-up were significantly less likely to be revictimized during the 6-month follow-up period if they participated in the program. Federal mandates require that all colleges and universities offer sexual assault prevention programming (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, 1994); however, little research has been conducted to document their effectiveness. Whereas the majority of programs have focused on rape-related attitudes and cognitions (see Breitenbecher, 2000, for a review), with only a few exceptions (e.g., Hanson & Gidycz, 1993), program evaluators have not assessed self-reported sexual victimization and aggression in participants. Gidycz and colleagues have systematically developed sexual assault prevention and risk reduction programs and evaluated their impact on both attitudes and behavior (
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 2002
This study compared the reports of satanic, sexual, and physical abuse of persons instructed to r... more This study compared the reports of satanic, sexual, and physical abuse of persons instructed to role-play either dissociative identity disorder (DID) (n = 33), major depression (n = 33), or a college student who experienced minor adjustment problems ("normal") (n = 33) across a number of trials that included role-played hypnosis. As hypothesized, more of the participants who were asked to role-play DID reported at least one instance of satanic ritual abuse and sexual abuse compared with those who role-played depression or a college student with minor adjustment problems. DID role-players reported more incidents of sexual abuse and more severe physical and sexual abuse than did the major depression role-players. Further, the DID roleplayers differed from the normal role-players on all the measures of frequency and severity of physical and sexual abuse. Participants in all groups reported more frequent and severe incidents of physical abuse after role-played hypnosis than they did prior to it. One of the dominant views of the genesis of dissociative identity disorder (DID) is that it is a posttraumatic condition that results ". .. from overwhelming childhood experiences, usually severe child abuse" (Gleaves, 1996, p. 42). According to the posttraumatic or "disease model," the dramatic symptoms of DID include alterations or sudden switches in behaviors and affect that are the by-product of the interaction of dissociated elements of the personality that, at times, vie for control and dominance. These dissociated aspects of the personality are alleged to contain repressed memories of traumatic abuse that are often only available for conscious inspection when special techniques such as hypnosis are used. Presumably, only when such memories are uncovered and "resolved" can a complete cure be effected (see van der Hart & Friedman, 1989). In stark contrast to the disease model, the sociocognitive model
This study is a prospective longitudinal examination of symptoms of drug and alcohol use (SUD) an... more This study is a prospective longitudinal examination of symptoms of drug and alcohol use (SUD) and PTSD symptoms in 1006 veterans in the 6 years (T3) following return from the Persian Gulf War (PGW). Both alcohol and drug use at T3 were significantly correlated with demographic variables and all three types of PTSD symptoms (reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal) as measured at T2. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine the self-medication hypothesis, which was supported for drug use but not for alcohol use at T3.
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