Social Network Changes and Disclosure Responses After Sexual Assault

Abstract

Social support after sexual assault is important for recovery, but violence and recovery may also challenge relationships. We examined functional and structural social support changes following sexual assault and their association with mental health. College women (N = 544) with and without a sexual assault history completed a cross-sectional survey assessing current and past egocentric social networks. Functional support (perceived global support, assault disclosure, and perceived helpfulness of responses) and structural support (network density, size, and retention) were examined. Multilevel models revealed that, relative to non-survivors, survivors reported smaller, less dense past networks, but similarly sized current networks. Survivors retained less of their networks than non-survivors, and network members who provided unhelpful responses to disclosure were less likely to be retained. Structural equation modeling revealed that, among survivors, perceived unhelpful responses to disclosure and a greater loss of network members were associated with worse mental health. Findings suggest that survivors may experience a restructuring of social networks following sexual assault, especially when network members respond in unhelpful ways to disclosure. Although survivors appeared to build new relationships, this restructuring was associated with more mental health problems. It is possible that interventions to improve post-assault social network retention may facilitate recovery.