Citation

No Author(s) Listed. Psychol. Trauma 2015; 7(2): 170.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/tra0000020

PMID

25793693

Abstract

Reports an error in "Sexual Assault-Characteristics Effects on PTSD and Psychosocial Mediators: A Cluster-Analysis Approach to Sexual Assault Types" by Liana C. Peter-Hagene and Sarah E. Ullman (Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Advanced Online Publication, Aug 18, 2014, np). In the article, there was an error in the abstract. The second to last sentence should have read, "The effect of assault-characteristics clusters on Time 2 PTSD was mediated by Time 1 self-blame and turning against social reactions." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2014-33772-001.) Using cluster analysis, we investigated the effects of assault characteristics (i.e., level of violence, subjective distress, alcohol consumption, perpetrator identity) on PTSD symptoms, and whether these effects are mediated by postassault social and psychological reactions. A large community sample of women sexual assault survivors completed 2 mail surveys at a 1-year interval. In line with prior research, cluster analyses revealed the existence of 3 general categories of sexual assault, which we described as "high violence," "alcohol-related," and "moderate sexual severity." Alcohol-related assaults resulted in fewer PTSD symptoms than high-violence assaults at Time 1, but not at Time 2. Alcohol-related and violent assaults resulted in more PTSD symptoms than moderate-severity assaults at both times. The effect of assault-characteristics clusters on Time 2 PTSD was mediated by Time 1 self-blame and turning against social reactions. The importance of considering effects of violence and alcohol consumption during the assault to better understand postassault PTSD, including implications for theory and practice, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Language: en