PTSD in Victims of Sexual Assault: Test of a Major Component of the Ehlers-Clark Theory

• NCJ Number: 213945
• Journal: Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 74-93
• Author(s): Nichole Fairbrother; S. Rachman
• Date Published: May 2006
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

This study of the dynamics of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by 50 female sexual assault victims tested a major component of the cognitive theory of PTSD proposed by Ehlers and Clark (2000), i.e., that victims' appraisals of the trauma and its consequences contribute significantly to the persistence of PTSD symptoms.

Abstract

Consistent with the Ehlers-Clark theory, the study found a positive association between the extent to which victims made negative, individualistically devastating appraisals of their sexual assault and/or its aftermath and the severity of the PTSD symptoms they reported. The findings confirmed the prediction that victims' assessments of the physical, psychological, and social harms caused by the sexual assault would be positively and significantly correlated with PTSD symptom severity. The findings provide evidence that women's reports of how the assault impacted their views of themselves, other people, their relationships with others, their world, and their future are linked to PTSD symptom severity. For the purposes of this study, researchers used the broad definition of sexual assault in Canadian law, which does not distinguish between penetrating sexual assault or rape and other forms of sexual assault, all of which lack consent from the victim. The study used a cross-sectional design in which the women were interviewed twice and administered a questionnaire package. A semistructured interview protocol was developed specifically for this study in order to assess victims' appraisals of their sexual assault and its aftermath. The questionnaire package contained the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self-Report and the SARA (Sexual Assault and Rape Appraisals) questionnaire. Correlations between questionnaire and interview-based appraisal ratings were calculated for each of the appraisal categories. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 28 references