Mechanisms Underlying Sexual Violence Exposure and Psychosocial Sequelae: A Theoretical and Empirical Review

Kate Walsh; Sandro Galea; Karestan C. Koenen

doi:10.1111/cpsp.12004

The effect of gender norms on the association between violence and hope among girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Global Mental Health ◽

10.1017/gmh.2016.31 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

L. Stark ◽

K. Asghar ◽

S. Meyer ◽

G. Yu ◽

T. Bakemore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Democratic Republic ◽

Physical Violence ◽

Future Orientation ◽

Gender Norms ◽

Exposure To Violence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Republic Of The Congo

Background.Girls at early stages of adolescence are vulnerable to violence victimization in humanitarian contexts, but few studies examine factors that affect girls’ hope in these settings. We assessed attitudes toward traditional gender norms as an effect modifier of the relationship between violence exposure and future orientation in displaced girls.Methods.Secondary analysis, using multivariable regression of cross-sectional data from girls ages 10–14 in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Key variables of interest were attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV), Children's Hope Scale (CHS) score, and exposure to physical, emotional, and sexual violence within the last 12 months. Additional covariates included age, educational status, and territory.Results.The interaction of exposure to violence and attitudes toward IPV magnified the association between violence exposure and lower CHS score for physical violence (β = −0.09, p = 0.040) and unwanted sexual touching (β = −0.20, p = 0.003) among girls age 10–14, when adjusting for other covariates. The interaction of exposure to violence and attitudes toward IPV magnified the association between violence exposure and lower CHS score for forced sex (β = −0.22, p = 0.016) among girls age 13–14, when adjusting for covariates. Findings for emotional violence, any form of sexual violence, and coerced sex trended toward lower CHS scores for girls who reported higher acceptance of IPV, but did not reach significance.Conclusions.Findings support the utility of gender norms-transformative programming in increasing resilience of girls who have experienced sexual violence in humanitarian contexts.

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Sexual Violence Victimization Among Youth Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department: The Role of Violence Exposure in Predicting Risk

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/1090198117741941 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. 625-634 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andria B. Eisman ◽

Quyen M. Ngo ◽

Yasamin Y. Kusunoki ◽

Erin E. Bonar ◽

Marc A. Zimmerman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Parent Education ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Specific Content ◽

Disadvantaged Communities ◽

Peer Violence ◽

Forms Of Violence ◽

Urban Emergency Department

Sexual violence (SV) is a widespread public health problem among adolescents and emerging adults with significant short- and long-term consequences. Young people living in urban, disadvantaged communities with high rates of violence may be especially at risk for SV victimization. Understanding interconnections between different forms of violence is critical to reducing SV risk among youth. Participants were youth ( N = 599) ages 14 to 24 years ( M = 20.05, SD = 2.42) presenting to an urban emergency department with a Level 1 trauma designation as part of a prospective cohort study and followed-up for 24 months. We used logistic regression to examine the probability of reporting SV during the 24-month follow-up based on baseline reports of community and peer violence exposure, accounting for previous SV victimization, substance use, and sociodemographic characteristics. Among youth presenting to an urban emergency department, 22% of youth not seeking care for a sexual assault reported any lifetime SV (forced and/or substance-induced sexual intercourse) at baseline. During the 24-month follow-up, 12% reported SV victimization. We found high community violence exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 2.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.01, 8.68]) and peer violence exposure (OR = 1.58, 95% CI [1.19, 2.08]) were associated with increased odds of reporting SV during follow-up in addition to previous SV victimization (OR = 2.71, 95% CI [1.45, 5.09]). Sex, age, parent education, and alcohol or other drug use at baseline were not associated with odds of SV during follow-up. Investigating interconnections between SV victimization and other forms of violence across socioecological levels provides an opportunity to advance SV research and identify promising avenues for prevention based on other violence prevention research. Future strategies for SV prevention that incorporate community and peer components as well as SV-specific content may help reduce SV victimization among youth living in urban, disadvantaged communities.

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Associations Between Interpersonal Violence, Psychological Distress, and Suicidal Ideation Among Formerly Incarcerated Men and Women

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/0886260520933045 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 088626052093304

Author(s):

Madeleine Newman ◽

Lisa Fedina ◽

Boyoung Nam ◽

Jordan DeVylder ◽

Binta Alleyne-Green

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Interpersonal Violence ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Formerly Incarcerated ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Incarcerated Men

Survivors of interpersonal violence are at increased risk of negative mental health outcomes; however, scant research has explored the relationship between violence exposure and mental health symptoms among formerly incarcerated individuals. This cross-sectional survey study investigates the demographic characteristics and mental health symptoms (i.e., psychological distress and suicidal ideation) associated with interpersonal violence exposure, including physical and sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, and sexual violence perpetrated by prison employees in a sample of formerly incarcerated men and women, with the aim that the findings both deepen the understanding of the effects of sexual violence exposure and help inform prison and jail policies. Surveys were administered to English-speaking adults ages 18 and older to recruit a sample of adults who were formerly incarcerated ( N = 201). Questions on the survey included questions regarding demographic details, sexual violence exposure, mental health symptoms, and time incarcerated. Findings show that higher levels of sexual violence exposure were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress and reporting of suicidal ideation. Results also suggest that higher levels of income and education and younger age were significantly associated with sexual violence perpetrated by prison employees. In addition, most forms of interpersonal violence were independently associated with psychological distress and suicidal ideation in this population. The findings make recommendations for prison and jail policies to include targeted treatment for individuals with sexual victimization histories, to mitigate the risk of revictimization and appropriately treat adverse mental health outcomes from sexual victimization within and outside the confines of incarceration.

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Recent Sexual Violence Exposure is Associated with Immune Biomarkers of HIV Susceptibility in Women

American Journal of Reproductive Immunology ◽

10.1111/aji.13432 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Annette M. Aldous ◽

Christopher Joy ◽

Jason Daniels ◽

Mariel Jais ◽

Samuel J. Simmens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Violence ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Hiv Susceptibility ◽

Immune Biomarkers

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What determines violent behavior in men? Predicting physical, psychological and sexual violent offending based on classification and regression tree analysis.

10.31234/osf.io/kcg6z ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Delia Vanessa Leiding ◽

Franziska Kaiser ◽

Marion Steffens ◽

Andrei A. Puiu ◽

Ute Habel

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Sexual Violence ◽

Violence Exposure ◽

Physical Violence ◽

Regression Tree ◽

Exposure To Violence ◽

Tree Analysis ◽

Prevention And Intervention ◽

Regression Tree Analysis ◽

Violent Offending

Despite compelling evidence that victimization and offending co-occur, it remains unclear what types of victimization are linked to specific forms of perpetration. Here we examined the relationship between physical, psychological, and sexual violence with respect to influencing variables including mental health, risk-taking behaviors, and coping strategies. Data from 5,385 men were collected as part of an epidemiological study on violence experience. A classi-fication and regression tree analysis identified the main predictors of violence perpetration and classified violent offending into high- and low risk groups. Results indicate that violence is best predicted by previous exposure to violence and polyvictimization. Physical violence is best predicted by prior exposure to physical violence and this is further influenced by the fre-quency of and the age at which violence was experienced. Drug use was a strong predictor of physical and psychological violence. The latter is best predicted by a history of polyvictimiza-tion, the severity and the originator of violence. Sexual violence is strongly predicted by one´s sexual violence experience. Other factors such as demographic characteristics are less predic-tive. Our results may contribute to the development of early prevention and intervention ap-proaches that account for different risk factors. The significance of violence exposure suggest that intervention measures must focus on victims of early and prolonged experience of vio-lence. On the strength of the link between drug use and violence, exposure to violence should be considered in drug prevention and intervention and vice versa.

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