Citation

Kelley EL, Orchowski LM, Gidycz CA. Psychol. Violence 2016; 6(2): 243-252.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0039407

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: College women are at high risk for sexual assault, especially women with a history of sexual victimization. The present study uses a longitudinal design to explore the role of sexual assertiveness, psychological barriers to resistance, and resistance self-efficacy as putative mediators between prior sexual victimization and sexual revictimization among a sample of 296 college women.

METHOD: Women completed assessments of sexual victimization since the age of 14, as well as putative mediator variables at a baseline assessment. Sexual revictimization was assessed over a 7-month interim.

RESULTS: Results of structural equation modeling indicated that the relationship between baseline and follow-up sexual assault was mediated by the study variables. Follow-up analyses suggested that sexual assertiveness served as a particularly salient mediator.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that increasing women's sexual assertiveness skills may be a particularly important component of reducing risk for sexual revictimization among women with a history of assault.

©2016 American Psychological Association

Language: en