title: Sexual revictimization, PTSD, and problem drinking in sexual assault survivors.
abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and problem drinking are common and often co-occurring sequelae experienced by women survivors of adult sexual assault, yet revictimization may mediate risk of symptoms over time. Structural equation modeling was used to examine data from a 3-wave panel design with a large (N=1012), ethnically diverse sample of women assault survivors to examine whether repeated sexual victimization related to greater PTSD and problem drinking. Structural equation modeling revealed that child sexual abuse was associated with greater symptoms of PTSD and problem drinking and intervening sexual victimization was associated with greater symptoms of PTSD and problem drinking at both 1 and 2year follow-ups. We found no evidence, however, that PTSD directly influenced problem drinking over the long term or vice versa, although they were correlated at each timepoint. Revictimization during the study predicted survivors' prospective PTSD and problem drinking symptoms inconsistently. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60607-7140, United States. Electronic address: seullman@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ullman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child sexual abuse; PTSD; Problem drinking; Revictimization; Sexual assault