Citation

Layman MJ, Gidycz CA, Lynn SJ. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 1996; 105(1): 124-131.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens 45701, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8666701

Abstract

Investigators of sexual assault have found that a substantial number of women who have been raped do not conceptualize their experiences as such. The present investigation examined differences between 40 unacknowledged rape victims and 20 women who acknowledged their experience as rape in a sample of college women, as well as a control group of 23 nonvictims. Groups were compared in terms of situational factors, postassault symptomatology, defense mechanisms, dissociative disorders, and sexual revictimization. In comparison to unacknowledged victims, acknowledged victims reported more forceful assaults and indicated more resistance and clearer refusal. Acknowledged victims exhibited more posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms than unacknowledged victims, who exhibited more symptoms than nonvictims, as measured by clinical interview. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Language: en