Sexual Assault Among College Women: The Role of Survivor Acknowledgment, Rape Myth Acceptance, Weight Bias, and Body Appreciation

Approximately one in five college women experience a sexual assault (SA), though a meaningful percentage of survivors do not acknowledge or label their experience as such. Research indicates that acknowledgment status is often influenced by how closely SA incidents align with the “real rape” script...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sall, Kayla E. (Author)
Contributors: Miller, Julia Caroline ; Jansen, Emily ; Shonrock, Abigail T. ; Byrd, Rhonda ; Carels, Robert A.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Journal of interpersonal violence
Year: 2024, Volume: 39, Issue: 11/12, Pages: 2687-2707
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
body appreciation
weight bias
rape myth acceptance
Sexual assault acknowledgment
Description
Summary:Approximately one in five college women experience a sexual assault (SA), though a meaningful percentage of survivors do not acknowledge or label their experience as such. Research indicates that acknowledgment status is often influenced by how closely SA incidents align with the “real rape” script and degree of survivor rape myth acceptance (RMA). However, studies evaluating acknowledgment paired with other attitudes and health outcomes among survivors is sparse. The current study examined the relation between acknowledgment status, RMA, weight-related constructs, and psychological well-being among three groups of college women (N = 584): non-survivors, unacknowledged survivors, and acknowledged survivors. Findings indicate that, among survivors, acknowledged compared to unacknowledged SA is significantly associated with diminished body appreciation, self-esteem, and increased internalized weight bias, though no differences in psychological distress were found.
ISSN:1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/08862605231223993