Tannahill Hallie S, Barrett Tyson S, Zalta Alyson K, Tehee Melissa, Blais Rebecca K
Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2023 Apr;38(7-8):6038-6061. doi: 10.1177/08862605221127211. Epub 2022 Oct 8.
Sexual revictimization is heightened among military service members and veterans and is associated with greater posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and severity. The heightened distress following revictimization may be due to posttraumatic cognitions (PTC), which include negative beliefs about the self and world, and self-blame. Moreover, it is unclear whether men and women experience different levels of PTC. The current study tested PTC (overall and subdomains) as a possible mediator between sexual revictimization and PTSS severity, and gender as a possible moderator of these associations. Revictimization was defined across time periods (military sexual assault [MSA] only vs. premilitary sexual trauma + MSA) and in military rape frequency (0, 1, 2+). Participants were 400 ( = 200 [50%] male) service members/veterans with a history of MSA and completed online, anonymous, self-report questionnaires. PTC mediated the association between revictimization and PTSS severity. A significant interaction of gender suggested that men reported high overall PTC and PTC about the self regardless of revictimization; by contrast, overall PTC and PTC about the self were lower for women in response to MSA only and increased with revictimization. Results also showed men were more sensitive to PTC about self-blame as it pertains to more severe PTSS compared to women. There were no unique gender interactions when assessing revictimization by rape frequency, although PTC (overall, all subdomains) significantly mediated the association between rape frequency and PTSS severity. PTC may be a beneficial target when treating PTSS in men, and may be especially heightened in women who have experienced revictimization.
性再受害化在现役军人和退伍军人中更为突出，且与更严重的创伤后应激症状（PTSS）及严重程度相关。再受害化后的痛苦加剧可能归因于创伤后认知（PTC），其中包括对自我和世界的负面信念以及自责。此外，尚不清楚男性和女性是否经历不同程度的PTC。本研究检验了PTC（总体及子领域）作为性再受害化与PTSS严重程度之间可能的中介变量，以及性别作为这些关联可能的调节变量。再受害化是根据时间段（仅军事性侵犯[MSA]与军事前性创伤+MSA）和军事强奸频率（0次、1次、2次及以上）来定义的。参与者为400名（n = 200[50%]男性）有MSA病史的现役军人/退伍军人，并完成了在线、匿名的自我报告问卷。PTC介导了再受害化与PTSS严重程度之间的关联。显著的性别交互作用表明，无论是否经历再受害化，男性报告的总体PTC和关于自我的PTC都较高；相比之下，仅经历MSA的女性的总体PTC和关于自我的PTC较低，且随着再受害化而增加。结果还显示，与女性相比，男性对与更严重PTSS相关的自责PTC更为敏感。在按强奸频率评估再受害化时，没有独特的性别交互作用，尽管PTC（总体、所有子领域）显著介导了强奸频率与PTSS严重程度之间的关联。在治疗男性的PTSS时，PTC可能是一个有益的靶点，而在经历过再受害化的女性中，PTC可能会特别加剧。
