Victim attributions and post-rape trauma.
This study assessed (a) the kinds of attributions victims make, (b) whether behavioral and characterological self-blame are associated with other variables as hypothesized (e.g., perception of future avoidability of being raped), and (c) whether behavioral self-blame is associated with better post-rape adjustment (Janoff-Bulman, 1979). Attributions and adjustment were assessed in a sample of adult female rape victims seen at a hospital-based rape crisis program. Many victims blamed themselves but tended to place more blame on external factors. The pattern of relations between behavioral and characterological self-blame and other attributional measures did not support the hypothesized distinctions between them. Both kinds of self-blame were significantly associated with increased post-rape depression (all ps less than .05). Attributions strongly predicted adjustment, accounting for up to 67% of the variance in 3-day post-rape depression. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
University of Missouri, Columbia.
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Frazier
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D010556:Personality Tests; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*