Rape myth acceptance impacts the reporting of rape to the police: a study of incarcerated women.

We examined the association between rape myth acceptance (RMA) and reporting rapes to the police. Situational characteristics of the rape (e.g., stranger attack, injury) are known predictors of reporting, but no existing studies have examined the association between beliefs about rape and reporting. In addition, most studies of RMA do not assess victimization history. Incarcerated women experience high rates of sexual assaults prior to incarceration. We recruited 74 rape survivors from a northwestern state prison. Results suggest that women who endorsed higher levels of RMA were less likely to report their rapes to police; however, participants endorsed few rape myths.

The impact of childhood abuse and combat-related trauma on postdeployment adjustment.

This retrospective study examined the effects of childhood physical abuse (CPA) and combat-related trauma on postdeployment psychiatric symptoms in an outpatient clinical sample of 1,045 U.S. service members. The authors conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of CPA and combat-related trauma on alcohol use, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Analyses revealed significant main effects for CPA and combat-related trauma on anxiety, depression, and PTSD. In contrast, no interactive effects were observed. Findings support and expand current knowledge about the roles that CPA and combat trauma play in the development of psychiatric symptoms and suggest a more complex etiology for postdeployment symptomatology. Clinical implications and future research opportunities are discussed.