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Victim Alcohol Intoxication During a Sexual Assault: Relations With Subsequent PTSD Symptoms
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Victim Alcohol Intoxication During a Sexual Assault: Relations With Subsequent PTSD Symptoms

Anna E Jaffe, Anne L Steel, David DiLillo, Lesa Hoffman, Kim L Gratz and Terri L Messman-Moore
Violence and victims, Vol.32(4), pp.642-657
08/01/2017
DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00045
PMCID: PMC6207636
PMID: 28516840
url
https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00045View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

This study examines associations between women's alcohol intoxication at the time of sexual assault and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Drawing on the dual representation theory (Brewin, Gregory, Lipton, & Burgess, 2010), we hypothesized that intoxication at the time of assault would be positively associated with both overall symptoms of PTSD and PTSD reexperiencing symptoms in particular. A total of 143 community women (ages 18-26 years; 71.3% European American) reporting sexual victimization completed questionnaires assessing severity of coercion involved in the assault, perceived level of intoxication at the time of assault, and current PTSD symptoms. Overall, results suggested that greater alcohol intoxication (but not alcohol use alone) was associated with more severe PTSD symptoms when controlling for severity of coercion. Furthermore, higher levels of victim intoxication at the time of the assault were most predictive of reexperiencing symptoms relative to the other symptom clusters.
Young Adult Sex Offenses Humans Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis Adolescent Battered Women - psychology Adult Female Psychometrics Surveys and Questionnaires Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology Alcoholic Intoxication

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