The goal of this study was to evaluate Joseph, Williams, and Yule's cognitive-behavioral model of response to traumatic stress when applied to a sample of 122 female sexual abuse survivors. Participants completed surveys that measured each variable presented in Joseph, Williams, and Yule's model (i.e., event stimuli, personality, appraisals, coping, crisis support, event cognitions, and emotional states). Path analysis showed that although Joseph, Williams, and Yule's model did not fit the data, a modified version based on the sexual abuse literature fit the data well. Modifications to the model included the removal of the variable coping and the addition of paths from event characteristics to crisis support and from personality to event characteristics.
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