Predicting Social Reactions to Female Survivors of Alcohol-Related Assaults Based on Demographics, Assault Characteristics, and Post-Assault Victim Responses

• In Event: Psychosocial Mediators of Recovery Outcomes in Sexual Assault Survivors

Abstract

Approximately half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol use (see Abbey, Zawacki, Buck, Clinton, & McAuslan, 2004). Disclosing pre-assault alcohol use may influence the reactions that survivors receive from their support systems. To date, little research has examined social reactions that are specific to survivors’ disclosures of alcohol use at the time of the assault. This study explores contributing demographic variables, assault characteristics, and post-assault victim responses that predict positive and negative social reactions for disclosed alcohol-related assaults. A new measure was used to assess alcohol-specific social reactions (The Social Reactions Questionnaire – Alcohol, Ullman & Relyea, under review). Data includes a subset of female sexual assault survivors who disclosed their assault and pre-assault alcohol use to a formal or informal support provider (N=388). Correlation and regression analyses reveal that various demographics, assault characteristics, and post-assault responses are related alcohol-related social reactions.

Authors

• Kathy Lorenz, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Sarah E. Ullman, University of Illinois at Chicago