(PS4-C67) Sexual Violence and PTSD: A Moderated Moderation Analysis Using Race and Negative Social Reactions

In adult surveys of sexual violence (SV) in the US, 43.6% of women and 24.8% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual contact (e.g., rape, unwanted sexual contact) in their lifetime (Smith et al., 2018). The high prevalence rates of reported sexual violence is distressing in and of itself, but even more so when considering the potential proximal and distal outcomes. Sexual violence exposure has been associated with significant adverse outcomes in mental health, including experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Hailes et al., 2019). Research has shown that not all survivors of SV choose to disclose their experiences to others (Tillman et al., 2010; Ullman & Filipas, 2005). However, those who do disclose may face positive or negative reactions (Ullman, 2000). Negative social reactions (i.e., victim blame, distraction, etc.) to disclosure of SV has been found to be associated with increased symptoms of PTSD, depression, self-blame, negative cognitions, and alcohol usage (Bonnan-White et al., 2018; Hakimi et al., 2018). For members of racial minorities, the potential for adverse outcomes may be further impacted by minority stress above and beyond post-traumatic stress. According to the Minority Stress Model (Meyer, 2003), individuals may face increased stressors related to minority identity, which can magnify experiences of chronic stress above and beyond the stress reported by non-minority members. Therefore, the current study examines the relative contribution of sexual violence in childhood and adulthood, exploring the role of race (as a proxy for minority stress) and negative social reactions in a three way interaction predicting PTSD symptoms. In accordance with the extant literature, individuals with a greater number of SV experiences are expected to report higher ratings of PTSD symptoms. This relationship is hypothesized to reflect differently for Racial Minority and White participants, as moderated by the exposure of negative social reactions to abuse disclosure; with racial minority participants with higher negative SRQ ratings reporting higher PTSD symptoms than their White counterparts. Overall PTSD symptoms are expected to increase as negative SRQ scores increase. Results of the overall model significantly predicted PTSD symptoms; F (7, 365) = 47.09, p < .001. Approximately 69% of the variance in current PTSD symptoms was accounted for by the predictors (R² = .47). Results indicate that sexual violence exposure significantly predicted PTSD symptom self-ratings, b = .24, SE = .11, p = .029; and exposure to negative social reactions during disclosure significantly predicted PTSD symptoms, b = .71, SE = .05, p < .001. Race was not a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms. Although the relationships between the variables were as expected, none of the interactions were significant. Although the minority stress model would suggest that racial minority individuals may experience stress above and beyond their White counterparts, and therefore may report higher PTSD symptoms, our results indicated that this was not the case. This finding is in opposition to a similar study on these constructs, which found racial differences between SV, negative social reactions, and PTSD symptoms (Hakimi et al., 2018).