Bhuptani Prachi H, López Gabriela, Sofen Levi, Orchowski Lindsay M
Department of Adult Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Violence Against Women. 2025 Aug 8:10778012251366229. doi: 10.1177/10778012251366229.
Responses to sexual victimization disclosure play a significant role in recovery. In a sample of 138 survivors who disclosed their experience both online and in-person, the current study examined the association between online social reactions to the disclosure of sexual victimization and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while accounting for social reactions to in-person disclosure and sexual victimization severity. Multivariate regression analyses indicated receiving in-person responses involving unsupportive acknowledgment, as well as receipt of online social reactions to disclosure via #MeToo that made fun, insulted, or said something to hurt the survivor were associated with increased PTSD symptoms.
