RT Article
T1 Rethinking Sexual Trauma Research: University Students Reactions to Participating in a Sexual Trauma Survey
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 41
IS 5/6
SP 1130
OP 1151
A1 Reynolds, Megan
A1 Anyadike-Danes, Ngozi
A1 Lagdon, Susan
A1 Aventin, Áine
A1 FlackJr., William F.
A1 McGlinchey, Emily
A1 Armour, Chérie
A2 Anyadike-Danes, Ngozi
A2 Lagdon, Susan
A2 Aventin, Áine
A2 FlackJr., William F.
A2 McGlinchey, Emily
A2 Armour, Chérie
LA English
YR 2026
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1951166043
AB The consistently high prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences (USEs) on university campuses has led to increasing calls for evidence-based solutions to inform policies, training, and intervention development. However, Research Ethics Committees are often hesitant to approve sexual trauma research due to beliefs that asking participants about traumatic experiences will cause extreme distress. Conversely, previous literature has found that many participants who have experienced sexual trauma report positive reactions following their participation in such research. Studies have found that while immediate negative emotional reactions are common, this distress is short-term (e.g., lasting only minutes or hours after participation). The present study assessed 469 Northern Irish university students’ experiences of participating in research addressing USEs. The findings indicated that participating in USE research was a positive experience for participants, regardless of victimization status. Further, participants who reported a victimization experience did not report experiencing a negative emotional reaction to participating in the study. This article considers the ethics of conducting sexual trauma research among university students, with reference to common ethical concerns that can be addressed as part of the research process.
K1 University Students
K1 reactions to research participation
K1 sexual trauma
K1 Sexual Violence
K1 Ethics
DO 10.1177/08862605251319293