This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Banyard, V. L. Articles by Ward, S. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Banyard, V. L. Articles by Ward, S. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Friends of Survivors: The Community Impact of Unwanted Sexual Experiences

University of New Hampshire

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: victoria.banyard{at}unh.edu.

	Abstract

Since sexual assault survivors are most likely to disclose their experiences to a friend; prevention efforts increasingly focus on friends as informal helpers. The current study examined friends' perceptions of the disclosure experience. Undergraduates (N=1,241) at the University of New Hampshire completed a shortened version of the Ahrens and Campbell (2000) Impact on Friends measure. Results found that about 1 in 3 female undergraduates and 1 in 5 male students were told by a friend that they were a victim of an unwanted sexual experience. Gender differences were found in friends' responses to disclosure. Women reported greater emotional distress in response to a friend's disclosure, greater positive responses and lesser-perceived confusion/ineffectiveness as compared to men. Implications include the need to develop specific and clear educational material to help the community cope with and effectively respond to unwanted sexual experiences on college campuses.

First published on June 8, 2009
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2009, doi:10.1177/0886260509334407


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?