Health complaints in acknowledged and unacknowledged rape victims

Rape may have physical as well as mental health consequences. Previous studies on health complaints in sexual assault survivors have focused on women who acknowledged their assault as rape. Unacknowledged rape victims do not define their assault as “rape” despite meeting legal definitions. In this s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of anxiety disorders 2006, Vol.20 (3), p.372-379
Main Authors: Conoscenti, Lauren M., McNally, Richard J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Attitude to Health
Awareness
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Health complaints
Health Status
Humans
Mass Screening - methods
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rape
Rape - psychology
Sick Role
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Rape may have physical as well as mental health consequences. Previous studies on health complaints in sexual assault survivors have focused on women who acknowledged their assault as rape. Unacknowledged rape victims do not define their assault as “rape” despite meeting legal definitions. In this study, acknowledged victims, unacknowledged victims, and a control group reported the number of health complaints, the intensity of complaints, and how often they reported these complaints to health professionals. Rape alone, without acknowledgment, was associated with in an increase in the reported number and intensity of health complaints and the frequency at which these complaints are addressed to health professionals. Acknowledgment of rape was associated with an even greater increase in the number and intensity of health complaints.
ISSN:0887-6185
1873-7897
DOI:10.1016/j.janxdis.2005.03.001