Citation

Deitz MF, Williams SL, Rife SC, Cantrell P. Violence Against Women 2015; 21(5): 598-615.

Affiliation

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801215573330

PMID

25732041

Abstract

The current study investigated a model explaining sexual assault victims' severity of trauma symptoms that incorporated multiple stigma constructs. Integrating the sexual assault literature with the stigma literature, this study sought to better understand trauma-related outcomes of sexual assault by examining three levels of stigma-cultural, social, and self.

RESULTS showed self-stigma was significantly and positively related to trauma symptom severity. Thus, results revealed that the internalized aspect of stigma served as a mechanism in the relation between sexual assault severity and increased levels of trauma symptom severity, highlighting the importance of assessing self-stigma in women reporting sexual assault experiences.

Language: en