<p> A traumatic and life-altering event, such as sexual assault, can adversely affect a survivor’s psychological well-being. In conjunction with an individual’s natural resources, religious and/or spiritual resources can provide additional and critical support as the realities of the Interpersonal trauma come to fruition. However, many mental health professionals do not feel comfortable or prepared to include spiritual or religious issues, within the therapeutic relationship. The objective of this research study was to examine the connection between a female sexual assault victim’s perceived God-image, attachment to a perceived God-image, and her experienced psychological distress, when processing Interpersonal trauma. This study employed Bowlby’s attachment theory and Rizzuto’s God-image theory. A convenience, nonprobability sample of 132 women, 18 years or older, who had experienced a sexual assault (but not within the past two years), completed a demographic questionnaire, Froese and Bader’s God Questionnaire, and Lovibond and Lovibond’s Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data was analyzed using a MANOVA. The data concluded a lack of significant difference between the participant’s perceived God image, her attachment to a God-image, and her selfreported levels of psychological distress due to the traumatic, Interpersonal experience. In the future, qualitatively analyzing this population would further explore valid themes and personal perspectives on the relationship between perceived God-image, an individual’s attachment to a God-image, and her experienced psychological distress, which may further be used to inform mental health professionals on the most conducive treatment for sexual assault survivors. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10259262 |
| Date | 04 April 2017 |
| Creators | Fuller, Melissa L. |
| Publisher | Capella University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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