Sexual Revictimization: Emotional and Psychosocial Mechanisms

描述(由申请人提供)：大量文献证明，早期的性侵害与成年女性的各种精神健康问题(如创伤后应激障碍、药物滥用)有关。更令人不安的是，那些在童年或青春期遭受虐待的女性在成年后再次受到性侵害的可能性高达十倍。这个问题被称为“再受害”，近年来引起了极大的研究兴趣，主要集中在确定患病率和确定与这一现象相关的因素。尽管信息丰富，但这项初步工作尚未解释儿童或青春期受害与成年再受害有关的过程。针对这一需要，本项目在一个纵向框架内整合了过去的调查结果，以阐明将最初的虐待与成人再受害联系起来的途径。特别是，与精神病理学、性风险承担和酒精使用有关的机制将被研究。本研究还采取了额外的步骤，检查导致成人性受害的更直接决定因素的前置因素。具体地说，根据最近的理论和经验发现，我们认为早期虐待导致的情绪调节困难是再次受害的更直接的心理社会预测因素的潜在风险因素。总而言之，这些发现将允许测试一个全面的再受害模型。 公共卫生相关性：对妇女的性暴力是一个地方性社会问题，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至关重要，该方案旨在减轻这些经历的社会负担。

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.