Sexual Revictimization: Emotional and Psychosocial Mechanisms

描述（由申请人提供）：大量文献证明，早期性受害与成年女性的各种心理健康问题有关（例如，PTSD，物质滥用）。更令人不安的是，在童年或青春期遭受虐待的妇女，成年后再次遭受性侵害的可能性要高出十倍。这一问题被称为“二次受害”，近年来引起了极大的研究兴趣，主要是为了确定流行率和查明与这一现象有关的因素。虽然这一初步工作提供了大量信息，但尚未解释儿童或青少年受害与成人再次受害之间的联系。针对这一需要，本项目将过去的研究结果纳入一个纵向框架，以阐明将最初的虐待与成年人再次受害联系起来的途径。特别是，与精神病理学，性冒险，和酒精使用的机制将进行检查。本研究还采取了额外的步骤，审查的前因，引起更直接的决定因素，成人性受害。具体而言，借鉴最近的理论和实证研究结果，我们提出，与情绪调节的困难，从早期虐待作为潜在的风险因素，更直接的心理社会预测的再次受害。这些研究结果将有助于对再次受害的综合模型进行测试。 公共卫生相关性：对妇女的性暴力是一个普遍存在的社会问题，与创伤后应激障碍、药物滥用、人际关系困难和艾滋病毒等严重健康问题等无数后遗症有关。了解受害的风险因素对于制定有效的性侵犯预防和治疗方案以减轻这些经历的社会负担至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A vast literature has documented that early sexual victimization is associated with a variety of mental health difficulties for adult women (e.g., PTSD, substance abuse). Even more disturbing is that the same women who suffer maltreatment during childhood or adolescence are up to ten times more likely to be sexually victimized again as adults. Known as "revictimization," this problem has generated tremendous research interest in recent years geared largely at establishing prevalence rates and identifying factors associated with this phenomenon. Although informative, this initial work has yet to explain the processes by which childhood or adolescence victimization is linked to adult revictimization. In response to this need, the present project integrates past findings within a longitudinal framework to elucidate pathways linking initial maltreatment to adult revictimization. In particular, mechanisms related to psychopathology, sexual risk taking, and alcohol use will be examined. The present study also takes the additional step of examining the antecedents that give rise to the more immediate determinants of adult sexual victimization. Specifically, drawing on recent theoretical and empirical findings we propose that difficulties with emotion regulation stemming from early abuse serve as underlying risk factors for the more immediate psychosocial predictors of revictimization. Together, these findings will permit the testing of a comprehensive model of revictimization. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Sexual violence against women is an endemic societal problem that has been associated with myriad sequelae such as posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, interpersonal difficulties, and serious health problems such as HIV. Understanding risk factors for victimization is critical to the development of effective sexual assault prevention and treatment programs designed to reduce the societal burden of these experiences.