The research investigated the impact of sexual harassment on withdrawal behaviors and attitudes toward harassment by examining the gender composition of the harassment dyad and the organizational status of the perpetrator in relation to the victim. Archival data from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan was used to obtain surveys in which participants rated their attitudes and experiences related to sexual harassment. Only individuals who reported experiencing sexual harassment within the 24 months prior to data collection are included in the current research. A MANOVA was conducted to determine if withdrawal behaviors and attitudes of victims varied by the gender dyad and/or the organizational status of the perpetrator. Results indicated that individuals harassed by people with higher organizational status displayed more withdrawal behaviors in the form of decreased productivity and increased use of sick, annual, and unpaid leave. Individuals harassed by a member of the same gender also used more unpaid leave. Interestingly, individuals harassed by members of the opposite gender, tended to disagree more strongly with the attitude index measuring cautious awareness of sexual harassment.

Posttraumatic growth, defined as positive psychological changes in the aftermath of adversity and suffering, is a relatively recent focus in psychological research. The addition of this concept to the literature has provided a new, more resiliency-based framework through which to view survivors of various forms of trauma. Despite estimates that over half of all sexual assaults are not reported to the authorities, current crime statistics indicate that 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime (Campbell & Wasco, 2005). Given the large percentage of the population that is impacted by sexual assault, it is essential that professionals better understand the factors that influence the successful healing and growth that can occur post-trauma. The purpose of this study was to further expand the literature on posttraumatic growth in sexual assault survivors by considering this phenomenon through the lens of attachment theory. Specifically, this study tested a proposed model of the inter-relationships among subjective and objective perceptions of threat during the sexual assault, adult romantic attachment, and posttraumatic growth. It was hypothesized that adult romantic attachment and parent-child attachment would mediate the relationship between subjective, or perceived threat, defined as the victim's perception of life threat, and objective threat, defined as the severity of the sexually aggressive act perpetrated on the victim, and posttraumatic growth. Finally, it was hypothesized that subjective threat appraisal would better predict posttraumatic growth than objective threat appraisal. Contrary to hypotheses, results of the study indicated that adult romantic attachment and parent-child attachment did not mediate the relationship between subjective and objective threat appraisal and posttraumatic growth. Thus, both path analytic models were not viable. However, exploratory analysis indicated that both subjective and objective threat appraisal were directly related to posttraumatic growth, with subjective perceived threat appraisal accounting for more of the variance.

The purpose of the following study was to evaluate sexual trauma and the effects on women veteran's quality of life ratings and current and past coping strategies. Participants were screened for sexual trauma history and divided into five mutually exclusive categories: 1)childhood sexual trauma, 2)civilian adult sexual trauma, 3)military sexual trauma, 4)multiple sexual trauma, and 5)no sexual trauma. Results of the study were mixed, retaining some hypotheses and rejecting others. Results regarding differences in QOL for the sexual trauma groups were rejected, as none of the QOL analyses were significant. Issues of small effect size for the QOL measure and low power to detect differences are discussed as limitations in the current study. Several significant findings were detected in the coping analyses. As predicted, the no trauma group was found to use significantly more approach coping strategies than the sexual trauma group for the past problem. Additionally, the sexual trauma group used significantly more avoidant coping techniques for past problem than the no trauma group. No between group differences were detected for sexual trauma type, however, several significant differences emerged in the comparisons of the multiple sexual trauma and military sexual trauma group's past coping compared to the no sexual trauma group's coping strategies. For past coping, the no trauma group used more approach strategies than the military or multiple trauma group. Past and current significant CRI subscale differences were also detected. Results regarding the relationship between QOL and CRI were rejected, as the two scales were not found to correlate significantly. Trauma history and avoidant coping were also nonsignificant predictors for General Life Satisfaction on the QOL measure. Additional exploratory analyses are presented as well as implications for research, theory and clinical practice.

As an MFA candidate at the Florida Atlantic University, I began in figurative painting and ended with abstract ink and pencil drawings in my thesis work. In between was a progression of artistic experimentation in theme, technique and medium to explore issues of female identity and childhood sexual abuse. From a girl trapped in a dark fairytale to a pregnant woman followed by a pedophile to a new mother frustrated that her own ambitions have been usurped, the final transformation of female identity into fierce protector came after confronting memories of child abuse. Using India ink and pencil drawings, my thesis work recreates scenes of a struggle between the same attacker and a powerful mother. She spins her own hair into a delicate, but powerful, barrier that keeps her daughter safe. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been the subject of much recent controversy as a result of Rind, Tromovitch and Bauserman's (1998) meta-analytic examination of CSA, which found a weak relationship between CSA and self-reported psychopathology in college samples. There have been few studies of CSA which look beyond self-report. The present study is an exploration of the relationships between CSA, quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG), neuropsychological, and psychological measurements in 24 high-functioning, unmedicated CSA adults who were matched for age, gender, and handedness with a group of adults without CSA (NCSA). The objectives of this study were to: 1) examine EEG abnormalities associated with CSA, 2) investigate QEEG cortical coherence in the groups using neuroelectric Eigen image (NEI) connectivity indices (Hudspeth, 1999), 3) integrate personality differences associated with CSA with EEG differences, and 4) better understand left versus right hemisphere functioning in CSA using intelligence testing. An examination of QEEG cortical coherence revealed moderate to large effect sizes indicating patterns of decreased connectivity between brain regions on the right frontally in the delta band, and frontally and centro-temporally on the right in the alpha band, and posteriorly in the alpha and beta bands, as well as in the cross-correlation; increased connectivity between brain regions was evidenced centrally across the motor strip and on the left temporally in the delta band, which differentiated the groups. Large effect sizes obtained on measures of personality were related to poorer adjustment for CSA adults in comparison to NCSA adults. In contrast to prior findings with clinical groups (Black, Hudspeth, Townsend, & Bodenhamer-Davis, 2002; Ito et al., 1993), hypotheses related to QEEG cortical coherence (left hemisphere alpha hypercoherence and right hemisphere theta hypocoherence), EEG abnormalities, and IQ (Verbal less than Performance) were not supported. Walker's (2003) theoretical modular coherence model was utilized to integrate coherence and personality variables and provide treatment options.

M.A. / This study is an attempt to investigate the way in which female survivors of childhood sexual abuse made sense of their experiences. Three participants were interviewed and the relevant themes that emerged from those interviews were coded and reported. The study was conducted from a qualitative perspective that was grounded in social construction methodology. The survivors' individual constructions of meaning at the time of their sexual abuse, their introduction to the social constructions of meaning about child sexual abuse and the double bind between these constructions are reported. The survivors' narratives are representations of the positive way they constructed meaning about their experiences as a way of coping. Their stories are also reflections of the confusion they experienced when introduced to the social constructions of child sexual abuse that differed from the meaning they attributed to their experiences. The study is a representation of the double bind that the difference between the individual and social constructions of their child sexual abuse created for them.