Preventing Posttraumatic Stress Related to Sexual Assault Through Early Intervention A Systematic Review

Sexual assault survivors come into contact with a variety of community responders after assault, and these interactions may play an important role in mitigating distress. Given theoretical understandings of the importance of early experiences in the development of posttraumatic stress (PTS), early c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trauma, violence & abuse Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 459 - 472
Main Authors: Dworkin, Emily R., Schumacher, ulie A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.10.2018
SAGE Publications
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
Assaults
Best practice
Communities
Community involvement
Contact stresses
Crime
Crime Victims - psychology
Crime Victims - rehabilitation
Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data
Criminal justice
Disclosure
Early intervention
Female
Health care
Health services
Help seeking behavior
Humans
Intervention
Judicial system
Male
Mental health services
Post traumatic stress disorder
Prevention
Psychological distress
Psychotherapy - methods
Quality of care
Review Manuscript
Sex crimes
Sex Offenses - psychology
Sex Offenses - statistics & numerical data
Sexual assault
Social justice
Social response
Social services
Social Support
Stress
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - prevention & control
Survivor
Systematic review
Time Factors
Well being
PTSD
reporting/disclosure
intervention
sexual assault
mental health and violence
support seeking
ISSN:1524-8380, 1552-8324, 1552-8324
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Sexual assault survivors come into contact with a variety of community responders after assault, and these interactions may play an important role in mitigating distress. Given theoretical understandings of the importance of early experiences in the development of posttraumatic stress (PTS), early contact with formal systems (e.g., health care, criminal justice, social services) and informal responders (e.g., friends, family) might be particularly important in preventing PTS. However, the effectiveness of these early interventions is unclear. Understanding the key elements of early interventions, both formal and informal, that successfully prevent the development of PTS could help to improve community responses to sexual assault and ultimately promote survivor well-being. In this systematic review, we investigate the types of experiences with responders in the early aftermath of assault that are associated with PTS, the duration of effects on PTS, and the role of the timing of these responses in the development of PTS. Findings indicate that responder contact alone is not typically associated with significant differences in PTS, and there is insufficient evidence to indicate that the timing of seeking help is associated with PTS, but the quality of services provided and perceptions of interactions with certain responders appear to be associated with PTS. Although many effects were short-lived, interventions that were perceived positively may be associated with lower PTS up to a year postassault. These findings support the importance of offering best practice interventions that are perceived positively, rather than simply encouraging survivors to seek help.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
content type line 14
ObjectType-Feature-3
ObjectType-Evidence Based Healthcare-1
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ObjectType-Undefined-3
ISSN:1524-8380
1552-8324
1552-8324
DOI:10.1177/1524838016669518