NCJ Number
194774
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 85-91
Date Published
2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the impact of resource loss on 57 recent female rape victims.
Abstract
Fifty-seven recent rape victims were recruited from an emergency room in South Carolina while seeking emergency medical treatment for rape. The victims were approached during their examination and were called a few days later by the researchers regarding the study. Rape victims were assessed at 6 weeks, reinterviewed again at 3 months post-assault, 6 months post-assault, and 1 year post-assault. Women who held masters or Ph.D. level clinical degrees conducted interviews and each interview took between 60 and 90 minutes to complete. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was assessed; past year resources and demographic data was also collected. Also, at 3 months post-assault, resource loss was measured. At the 3-month post-assault interview, almost 37 percent of the women reported a job loss, 21.1 percent of the women reported a relationship breakup and 7 percent reported an illness. This study's findings support other research in that a rape does not ordinarily impact resource loss, but the distress associated with the rape does. Hence, post-rape interventions should be created that minimize resource loss, increase financial and emotional stability for the victims, and prevent revictimization. Tables, references