Rape? Is 1 Sexuel Assault? Suggestion: "Why Didn't Isay Non
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A MODEL OF SWUAL ASSAULT ACKNOWLEDGMENT: BLAME. SOCIAL SUPPORT, POSlTRAUMATIC STRESS, AND POSlTRAUMATlC GROWTH A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fuifilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon BY Lana N. Shimp Spring 2000 Q Copyright Lana N. Shimp, 2000. AI1 rights resenred. Bibliothèque nationale du Canada uisitions and Acquisitions et 9Bib iographrc SeMces services bibliographiques The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exciusive licence ailowing the exclusive permettant a la National Li'brary of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distri'bute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in rnicroform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. La forme de microfiche/nIm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur fomt klectronique . The author retains ownershrp of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in tbis thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thése. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othedse de ceiie-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. UNNERSIM OF SASKATCHEWAN In presenting this Viesis in partial fulfilrnent of the requirernents for a Dodor of Philosophy degree from the University of Saskatchewan, 1 agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. Ifurther agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes rnay be granted by the pmfessor who supervised rny thesis work or. in his absence, by the Head of the Department of Psychology or the Oean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this îhesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. tt is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed lo: Head of the Department of Psychology University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N OWO ABIITRACT Previous research has idicated that approximately half of the wornen who have experiences which are wnsisîent wiîh legal d-pqions of rape do not idenüfy themselves as having experienced a rape. A model af sexual assault I rape acknowieâgment was developed, which atternpts to intqrate previous ntsearch in the area that suggests that the circumstances of the assaun (Le.. the relationship with the assailant, amount of nsistance and level of force). perceptions of significant othen' and societal atütudes towards mpe, attributions of blame, disclosune, unsupporüve behavior frorn others, posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptornatology, and posttraumatic gmwth (PTG) may be important variables in terms of understanding acknawledgment. Path analysis was used to test this mode1 as appîied to sexual assault acknowledgrnent. The final sampie consistecl of 238 univenity wamen who indicated that they had experiences consistent with legal definitions of sexual assault; this sample was obtained after screening 2552 female students. The hypothesized model received partial support and a better fitting mode1 was derived. Contrary to expedations, sexual assault acknowiedgment did not predid greater PTG, as PIS accounted for the obsewed relationship between sexual assauk acknowledgrnent and PTG. PTG was predided by a greater relationship with the perpetmtar, disdasure, more negative perceptions of societal attitudes, greater force, and greater PTS symptomatology. The results of this study contradict dinical and feminist literature. which suggest that acknowiedgment is necessary in order to faciîiiate gmwth following a sexual trauma. More forceful assaults, gnater perpetrator Marne, greater PTS symptomatology, less negaüve perceptions of significant others' attitudes towards mpe, and more negative perceptions of saeietal attitudes towards rape were al1 dindly related to greater sexual assault acknwvledgrnent. The relaüonship with the perpetrator, self-Marne, tesistance, and unsupportive behavior were indiredly mlated to sexual assault acknowledgment. As expeded, women who had experiences which were consistent with legal definitions of tape I sema1 assault were more likely to indicate that they had expetienced a 'semial assault', rather than a 'rape'. This study illustrates the cornplexity of îhe pmcsss of sexual assault acknawledgment. The resuls are discussed in tens of sexual assault reporting, dinical applications, and theoretical issues. ACKNOWLEûGM€NT3 Iwould Iike to thank rny supervisor, Dr. Brian Charüer, for his guidance thmughout every stage of this pmjed. He was generous with his tirne, pmvided insightful feedback. offered emotional support end encouragement, gave financial suppoit for the projod, and did al1 of this with a much appmciatd sense of humour and enthsiasm. He has beian a tme mentor - I aspire to be a psychologist of his calibre. I also to extend my appredaüon to my mmmittee members, Ors. Gerry Farthing, Kim Noels. and Bernard Schissel, who6e: feedback and assisiance have beninvaluable in cornpleüw this rwearch. 1 would also like to thank Dr. Wendy Josephson, who served as my edemal examiner, for herthought-pmvoking questions and observations. I would like to acknovrledge Jennifer Kelly's contributions in assisüng with the data colledion. The work of my underpaid research assistants, Darrell and Nina, who did Vie painstaking work of stapling and coliating over 4000 questionnaires, along with other equally stirnulating tasks, is very much appreciated. 1 am also grateful for the support that my ciassrnates Sandy Gardner, Peter Gmenspoon, Terry Levitt. Paola Lake, and Jennifer Maw have offered over the years. Of coune, I could not have completed this pmjed without the ever-present support of my husband, parents, and siblings. 1 am grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for having provided me with financial support thmughout the four years of my dodoral studies. Donations from the Body Shop, in the fom of gifts to participants, was also much appfeclfeclated. Finally, I would like to extend my appreciation to al1 of the women who donated their time and shared their experiences with me by participating in this study. iii To my husband, DmII, who has unselfshly given me the space and support needed to rom@& tfüs projsa - his love, patience, anâ encouragement have been enutmous sources of SaeW tbr me. To my parents, Les and Nina, lbr always bekuing in me. 3.1 0.1 Blame and Cimrnstances of the Assauit ..................... 33 3.102 Types of Seff-blame: Charademlogical and Behavioral .......... 33 3.10.3 Attriknionsof BlameandtheCumnîStudy ................... 34 3.t 1.1 Dhelosure Among Rape 1 Sexual Assauit Victims ............... 36 3.1 12 Relationship of Social Suppon to the Nature of the Assault ........37 3.1 1.3 Social Support and Recovery from Rape ..................... 39 3.1 1.4 Social Support and Vidims' Aüribuüons ..................... -40 3.1 1.5 Social Support and the Current Study ....................... -41 3.12 Psycholoqical Fundioning: Posttraumaüc Stress and Posttraurnatic Gmwth . 42 3.12.1 Postlraumatic Stress ..................................... 43 3.12.1 -1 Cimmstances of the Assauft and PTSD .............. 43 3.1 2.1.2 Blame and PTSQ ............................... 44 3.12.1.3 Social Support and PTSD .........................45 3.12.1.4 Posttraumatic Stress and Sexual Assault Acknowiedgment ................................ 45 3.12.2 Postiraumatic Gmwth ................................... -45 3.12.2.1 Sexual Assauit AckAowledgment and Posttraurnatic Growlh .................... ,... ............. 46 3.12.2.2 Extent of the Trauma and PTG .................... -47 3.12.2.3 Disclosure and Posttraumatic Gmwth ................ 48 3.12.3 Posttmumatic Stress. Posîtraumaüc Growth. and the Current Study . 48 3.1 3 Summary and Review of the Mode1 of SexrtaI Assauit / Rape Acknowledgment .....................,......................... 46 4.1 Participants .................................................... 55 4.2 Materials ...................................................... 56 4.2.1 Oernographic Questionnaire ................................ 59 4.2.2 SexuaI Experiences Sunrey (SES) ........................... 59 4.23 Semal Experiences Inventory (SEI) ......................... -62 4.2.4 Blame Questionnaire .................................... -63 4.2.5 Diiosura Questionnaire .................................. 64 4.2.6 Social Readimns Cheddist (SRC) ............................ 64 4.2.7 Rape MyVi Acceptance Scale (RMA) ........................ -66 42.8 Attitudes towards Rape Vicüms Seale (ARVS) ................. -67 429 Purdue Posttraumaüc Strws Disorder Scale .Revised (PPTSD-R) . -67 4210 Posttraumaüc Growth lnventory ml) ..................... -68 5. RESULTS ............................................................ -70 6.3.3.3 Self-Mame as a Mediator Between the Cimrnstanœs of the Assauit and Sexuai Assauit Aûcnowledgment ....... 123 6.3.3.4 Unsupporüve Behavior as Mediator Between Ciraimstanas of the Assaut and Sexual Assaun Acitnowl~ment................................ 126 6.3.3.5 Serblame.