title: Symptoms and beyond: Self-concept among sexually assaulted women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The unique characteristics of sexual assault (SA)-a toxic mix of an interpersonal harm, a violent exploitation of one's body, and a transformation of an act of connectedness into an act of submission-are postulated to negatively affect the self-concept. We sought to deepen the understanding of self-concept impairments among sexually assaulted women with varying levels of posttraumatic distress. To this end, we compared women with a main trauma of SA to women with a main trauma of motor-vehicle accident (MVA) and to nontraumatized (NT) women on several self-concept aspects. Our main hypotheses were (a) sexually assaulted women without PTSD exhibit impaired self-concept as compared with NT women and (b) SA is related to greater self-concept impairments as compared with MVA, even when posttraumatic distress is statistically controlled.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women (N = 235: NT = 69, MVA = 87, SA = 79) completed a web-based survey including measures designed to assess the global and domain-specific contents and structure of the self-concept as well as background and clinical questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sexually assaulted women without PTSD reported impaired self-concept as compared with NT women. Furthermore, SA was related to greater self-concept impairments as compared with MVA, even when considering participants' levels of posttraumatic distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SA is related to unique self-concept impairments that extend beyond symptoms, emphasizing the need to assess and address self-concept impairments in sexually assaulted women. The importance of adopting a multifaceted conceptualization of the self to gain a deeper understanding of the aftermath of trauma is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors: Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University.
authors: Hadar
authors: H
authors: Keshet
authors: Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Gilboa-Schechtman
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult