The purposes of this project are 1) to compare the psychological reactions of rape victims with those of female robbery victims, 2) to examine the longitudinal psychological effects of robbery, 3) to compare the reactions of men and women and 4) to explore some of the potential determinants of fear and anxiety in victims of personal crime. Three groups of participants, 50 female rape victims, 50 female robbery victims, and 50 male robbery victims will be assessed at three postassault intervals, one, three, and six months. The three victim groups will be assessed with a battery of standardized psychological tests which measure fear, depression, general personality functioning and sexual functioning. Victims' experience with aggression and violence, and perceptions during the assault will also be assessed. The findings of this study will provide important theoretical and practical information on a remarkably understudied problem, the psychological aftermath of victimization. Greater understanding of reactions to rape and robbery as well as an examination of sex differences in reactions to assault will facilitate the development of effective intervention procedures as well as expand our knowledge base on this topic.
| Suvak, Michael K; Walling, Sherry M; Iverson, Katherine M et al. (2009) Multilevel regression analyses to investigate the relationship between two variables over time: examining the longitudinal association between intrusion and avoidance. J Trauma Stress 22:622-31 |
