Miller Katherine E, Cromer Lisa DeMarni
a Department of Psychology , University of Tulsa , Tulsa , Oklahoma , USA.
J Trauma Dissociation. 2015;16(2):211-23. doi: 10.1080/15299732.2014.985863. Epub 2014 Dec 17.
Survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) often delay disclosing or do not disclose the abuse for fear of not being believed. Studies document that women believe CSA disclosures more often than do men. Little research has examined theoretical underpinnings for gender differences in believing. However, 1 theory suggests that women may be more empathetic to disclosures because interpersonal trauma (IPT) is proximal to their lives. The present study aimed to extend understanding of how proximity to IPT may shape views of others' experiences of IPT. This study examined whether proximity to IPT (i.e., knowing a close other who had experienced IPT) rather than personal experience would better account for the robust gender differences typically found in believing disclosures. College students (N = 279) completed self-report measures about their personal trauma history and responded to questions regarding knowledge of close others' trauma histories. Participants read a vignette of an adult female disclosing CSA and rated the disclosure for believability. Results indicate that exposure to IPT increased believing, whereas gender did not. These results suggest that one's proximity to IPT may be an alternative explanation for influence on believing CSA rather than gender alone.
儿童性虐待（CSA）的幸存者常常因担心不被相信而延迟披露或不披露虐待情况。研究表明，女性比男性更常相信CSA披露。很少有研究探讨相信方面性别差异的理论基础。然而，有一种理论认为，女性可能对披露更具同理心，因为人际创伤（IPT）与她们的生活更为贴近。本研究旨在扩展对IPT的亲近程度如何塑造对他人IPT经历看法的理解。本研究考察了与IPT的亲近程度（即认识一位经历过IPT的亲密他人）而非个人经历是否能更好地解释在相信披露方面通常发现的显著性别差异。大学生（N = 279）完成了关于他们个人创伤史的自我报告测量，并回答了有关了解亲密他人创伤史的问题。参与者阅读了一位成年女性披露CSA的短文，并对该披露的可信度进行评分。结果表明，接触IPT会增加相信程度，而性别则不然。这些结果表明，一个人与IPT的亲近程度可能是影响相信CSA的另一种解释，而非仅仅是性别因素。
