Erika L. Kelley

Dating Violence Perpetration: The Predictive Roles of Maternally versus Paternally Perpetrated Childhood Abuse and Subsequent Dating Violence Attitudes and Behaviors

This study investigated both young mens and young womens perpetration of physical, sexual, and psychological forms of dating violence, examining predictors of violence including maternally or paternally perpetrated forms of various types of child maltreatment, as well as attitudes toward dating violence and dating violence victimization. Results of hierarchical linear regressions found that childhood experiences of maternal neglect predicted mens physical perpetration, and childhood sexual abuse predicted womens sexual perpetration and mens psychological perpetration. Further, positive attitudes toward dating violence predicted womens physical, psychological, and sexual perpetration, as well as mens sexual perpetration, and experiences of dating violence victimization were the strongest predictors of most forms of dating violence perpetration, particularly among women. Implications for future research and prevention initiatives are discussed.

Perceptions of Dating Violence and Associated Correlates: A Study of College Young Adults

The purpose of this study was to better understand young adults’ perceptions of what behaviors constitute intimate partner violence (IPV) and the correlates of these perceptions using a comprehensive measure of IPV perceptions and behaviors. Participants were undergraduates (aged 18-25), including 357 women and 346 men (N = 703) from the midwestern region of the United States, who completed surveys for course credit. Results demonstrated that young women and men on average reported that acts of physical, sexual, and psychological IPV were abusive. However, young women generally rated these behaviors as more abusive than young men, male-to-female (M-to-F) IPV was viewed as more abusive than female-to-male (F-to-M) IPV, and physical IPV was considered the most abusive form of IPV, followed by sexual IPV, which was rated as more abusive than psychological IPV. Furthermore, among men, a history of IPV perpetration and victimization generally predicted decreased perceptions that acts were abusive; however, among women, histories of IPV perpetration and victimization were generally unrelated to abuse perceptions. These data underscore the importance of the inclusion of psychoeducation about the seriousness of all forms of IPV in IPV prevention programming and the importance of situation-specific and targeted IPV prevention messages. Moreover, future research is needed to replicate and better understand the explanatory mechanisms underlying the relationships among a history of IPV, abuse perceptions, and gender.

A Mixed-Methodological Examination of Investment Model Variables Among Abused and Nonabused College Women

Abstract Objective: This study assessed abused and nonabused womens perceptions of Investment Model (IM) variables (ie, relationship investment, satisfaction, commitment, quality of alternatives) utilizing a mixed-methods design. Participants: Participants included 102 college women, approximately half of whom were in abusive dating relationships. Methods: Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze transcribed responses to open-ended questions about abused and nonabused womens perceptions of IM variables. These coding categories were compared with a quantitative measure of IM variables. Results: Overall, abused and nonabused women were not found to differ on qualitative or quantitative measures with regard to overall level of commitment, investment, or perceived alternatives to their relationships. However, abused women reported lower levels of satisfaction, and listed more negative aspects of their relationships than nonabused women. Additionally, a number of factors were identified by women to affect their perceptions of these IM variables. Conclusions: Victims of dating violence may minimize the abuse sustained in efforts to maintain their relationships. Alternatively, dissonance between the positive and negative aspects of the relationships may drive ambivalence about leaving relationships, all of which could be addressed in dating violence prevention and intervention programming on campuses.

Labeling of Sexual Assault and Its Relationship With Sexual Functioning The Mediating Role of Coping

Little research has examined the relationship between women’s labeling of their sexual assault experiences and sexual functioning, as well as identification of variables that may mediate the labeling-trauma outcome relationship. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap in the literature, by examining the potential mediating role of coping strategies in response to sexual assault in the relationship between labeling and sexual functioning. The sample included 135 college women with a history of adolescent/early adulthood sexual assault. Labeling was not bivariately related to sexual functioning outcomes; however, anxious coping mediated the relationships between labeling and both sexual lubrication and sexual satisfaction. This suggests that correlational analyses between labeling and trauma outcomes may not capture the complexity of this relationship, as it may be more indirect. Furthermore, results suggest that labeling is part of the coping process in response to sexual assault; some women who consider their experience to be sexual assault may engage in anxious coping efforts, contributing to difficulties with sexual lubrication and sexual dissatisfaction. Victims actively working to integrate their sexual assault experience with prior beliefs and self-concept may benefit from treatment focused on decreasing anxious coping, especially as it relates to sexual functioning.

Mediators of the relationship between sexual assault and sexual functioning difficulties among college women.

Objective: Research has indicated that adolescent or adulthood sexual assault (ASA) is associated with sexual functioning difficulties; less research has examined mechanisms behind this relationship. The current study tested domains of trauma-related symptomatology as mediators of the relationship between ASA and domains of sexual functioning, while considering a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as a covariate. Method: A sample of 501 sexually active college women from a midwestern university completed paper-and-pencil surveys assessing sexual assault history, trauma-related symptomatology (i.e., dissociation, anxiety, depression, sexual abuse trauma index, sleep difficulties), and sexual functioning (i.e., desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pain). Results: Neither ASA nor CSA was directly related to sexual functioning. However, anxiety mediated the relationship between ASA and greater sexual pain and between ASA and fewer desire difficulties. A higher sexual abuse trauma index mediated the relationship between ASA and greater orgasm difficulties and fewer desire difficulties. Depression mediated the relationship between ASA and sexual pain. Conclusions: Results suggest potential unique psychological mediators of the relationship between ASA and sexual functioning difficulties. Integrative mental and sexual health care among college women survivors of sexual trauma is warranted. Future research should examine whether women who experience sexual pain and have a history of ASA benefit from psychological treatment targeting both trauma symptoms and anxiety related to pain.

Posttraumatic stress and sexual functioning difficulties in college women with a history of sexual assault victimization.

Objective: College women are at risk for exposure to sexual victimization, which is a risk factor for posttraumatic stress (PTS) and sexual dysfunction. Contemporary models of female sexual functioning identify the role of distal (e.g., sexual abuse) and proximal (e.g., psychological) variables in contributing to female sexual response. This study examined whether and how PTS symptom clusters are related to specific domains of sexual functioning in a sample of sexually active college women who reported a history of sexual victimization. Method: A nonclinical sample of 108 women, recruited from a midsized university, completed online questionnaires assessing sexual victimization history, PTS symptom clusters (i.e., intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal), and difficulties with sexual functioning (i.e., desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, pain, and distress). Results: Regression analyses indicated that greater intrusive symptoms were associated with more difficulties with orgasm and higher sexual distress. Conclusion: Results confirm the importance of intrusive PTS symptoms in understanding subjective distress and orgasm difficulties in sexual assault survivors. Possible implications of these findings include the integration of trauma-focused therapy with treatment of sexual dysfunction among women with a history of sexual assault. Future research should examine prospective relationships between sexual assault exposure, PTS response, and female sexual dysfunction.

College Students' Reactions to Participating in Relational Trauma Research: A Mixed Methodological Study.

Using a mixed methodology, the present study compared men’s and women’s perceived benefits and emotional reactions with participating in research that inquired about child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration. Participants consisted of 703 college students (357 women, 346 men), ages 18 to 25 who reported on their childhood maltreatment, adolescent and adult IPV victimization and perpetration, and their reactions (perceived benefits and emotional effects) to participating. Participants’ reactions to participating were assessed using quantitative scales, as well as open-ended written responses that were content coded by researchers. Women reported more personal benefits from research, whereas men and women reported similar levels of emotional reactions to research participation. Furthermore, greater frequencies of child maltreatment and IPV victimization were related to higher levels of emotional reactions. Common self-identified reasons for emotional reactions (e.g., not liking to think about abuse in general, personal victimization experiences) and benefits (e.g., reflection and awareness about oneself, learning about IPV) were also presented and analyzed. These data underscore the importance of future research that examines the behavioral impact of research participation utilizing longitudinal and in-depth qualitative methodologies. Findings also highlight the potential psychoeducational value of research on understanding the reasons underlying participants’ benefits and emotional effects.

Mediators of the Relationship Between Sexual Assault and Sexual Behaviors in College Women

Some research shows that sexual assault victimization is associated with increased engagement in risky sexual behavior (e.g., intercourse without use of a condom or contraceptives), whereas other research indicates sexual assault victimization is related to sexual aversion. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether posttraumatic stress symptoms, alcohol use, and sexual assertiveness mediated the relationship between adolescent/emerging adulthood sexual assault (ASA) and risky sexual behavior, and whether posttraumatic stress symptoms mediated the relationship between ASA and sexual aversion, among college women. A sample of 462 women from a Midwestern university completed online questionnaires assessing ASA, child sexual abuse (CSA), posttraumatic stress symptoms (i.e., intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal, and dissociation), alcohol use, sexual assertiveness, risky sexual behavior, and sexual aversion. CSA was considered as a covariate in the mediation models. Results of mediation analyses showed that the relationship between ASA and risky sexual behavior with a new partner was partially mediated by greater alcohol use and lower sexual assertiveness and that the relationship between ASA and risky sexual behavior with a regular partner was partially mediated by greater alcohol use. Results of a model examining mediators of ASA and sexual aversion detected no significant mediators. Results suggest that college women with a history of ASA would benefit from psychoeducation on the effect of alcohol on sexual decision-making, as well as from sexual assertiveness skills training, to reduce potential risks associated with risky sexual behaviors, particularly with lesser known partners, including sexually transmitted infections and sexual revictimization.