This study furthers previous research on sexual assaults (SAs) involving substances and/or force by examining effects of perpetrator behaviors of alcohol and/or drug impairment level (none, impaired, incapacitated) and/or force during SA in relationship to various assault and recovery outcomes. A diverse sample of 632 women from a large Midwestern city participated in a study on women’s experiences with SA. Of this sample of substance-involved SAs, 37.3% (n = 236) reported a forcible-only unimpaired assault, 50.6% (n = 320) reported a combined impairment/incapacitation and force assault, and 12% (n = 76) reported an impaired/incapacitated-only assault. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) and chi-square analyses compared assault types as defined by combined alcohol and/or drug impairment level and/or force to determine how these assaults differed in demographics, other assault characteristics, and post-assault experiences. Assault types differed on several demographic, assault, and post-assault factors with most differences showing that the combined assault type was related to worse outcomes than forcible-type assaults, including greater reexperiencing, avoidance, and numbing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Implications for clinical intervention include recognizing that assaults involving substance use and force are traumatic and warrant individualized treatment.
AbbeyA.BeShearsR.Clinton-SherrodA. M.McAuslanP. (2004). Similarities and differences in women’s sexual assault experiences based on tactics used by perpetrator. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 323–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00149.x
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.).
3.
Busch-ArmendarizN. B.DiNittoD. M.BellH.BohmnaT. (2010). Sexual assault perpetrators’ alcohol and drug use: The likelihood of concurrent violence and post-sexual assault outcomes for women victims. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 42, 393–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2010.10400702
4.
CarverC. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 92–100. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6
5.
ClassenC.PaleshO.AggarwalR. (2005). Sexual revictimization: A review of the empirical literature. Trauma Violence Abuse, 6, 103–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838005275087
6.
CooperM. L.FroneM. R.RussellM.MudarP. (1995). Drinking to regulate positive and negative emotions: A motivational model of alcohol use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 990–1005. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.990
7.
FoaE. B. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale Manual. National Computer Systems.
8.
FoaE. B.CashmanL.JaycoxL.PerryK. (1997). The validation of a self-report measure of PTSD: The Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment, 9, 445–451. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.9.4.445
9.
FrazierP. A. (2003). Perceived control and distress following sexual assault: A longitudinal test of a new model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1257–1269. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.6.1257
10.
JaffeA.SteelA.DiLilloD.HoffmanL.GratzK.Messman-MooreT. (2017). Victim alcohol intoxication during a sexual assault: Relations with subsequent PTSD symptoms. Violence and Victims, 32, 642–657. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00045
11.
KilpatrickD. G.ResnickH. S.RuggieroK. J.ConoscentiL. M.McCauleyJ. (2007). Drug-facilitated, incapacitated, and forcible rape: A national study. National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina.
12.
KossM. P.GidyczC. A.WisniewskiN. (1987). The scope of rape: Incidence and prevalence of sexual aggression and victimization in a national sample of students in higher education. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 162–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.55.2.162
13.
LaskyN.FisherB.SwanS. (2018). Doing things differently: Exploring drugging victims’ behavioral changes and risk of recurring victimization. Criminal Justice Review, 43, 75–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016817741939
14.
LittletonH.Grills-TaquechelA.AxsomD. (2009). Impaired and incapacitated rape victims: Assault characteristics and post-assault experiences. Violence and Victims, 24, 439–457. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.24.4.439
15.
LittletonH.Radecki BreitkopfC.BerensonA. (2008). Beyond the campus: Unacknowledged rape among low income women. Violence Against Women, 14, 269–286. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801207313733
16.
LorenzK.UllmanS. E. (2016a). Alcohol and sexual assault victimization: Research findings and future directions. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 31, 82–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.08.001
17.
LorenzK.UllmanS. E. (2016b). Exploring correlates of alcohol-specific social reactions in alcohol-involved sexual assaults. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 25, 1058–1078. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2016.1219801
18.
MacyR.NuriusP.NorrisJ. (2006). Responding in their best interests: Contextualizing women’s coping with acquaintance sexual aggression. Violence Against Women, 12, 478–500. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801206288104
19.
MacyR.NuriusP.NorrisJ. (2007a). Latent profiles among sexual assault survivors: Implications for defensive coping and resistance. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 543–565. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506298841
20.
MacyR.NuriusP.NorrisJ. (2007b). Latent profiles among sexual assault survivors: Understanding survivors and their assault experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 520–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506298839
21.
Martino, S. C., Collins, R. L., & Ellickson, P. L. (2004). Substance use and vulnerability to sexual and physical aggression: A longitudinal study of young adults. Violence & Victims, 19, 521–540.
22.
McCauley, J. L., Ruggiero, K. J., Resnick, H. S., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2010). Incapacitated, forcible, & drug/alcohol-facilitated rape in relation to binge drinking, marijuana use, and illicit drug use: A national survey. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20489
23.
McConnellA. A.Messman-MooreT. L.GratzK. L.DiLilloD. (2017). Beyond the force-substance dichotomy: Examining the experience of combined and incapacitated type rapes and their relation to PTSD symptoms. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517724252
24.
MirowskyJ.RossC. E. (1990). Control or defense? Depression and the sense of control over good and bad outcomes. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 71–86.
25.
PegramS. E.AbbeyA.HelmersB. R.BenbouricheM.JilaniZ.WoernerJ. (2018). Men who sexually assault women: Similarities and differences with men who sexually assault sober women and nonperpetrators. Violence Against Women, 24, 1327–1348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801218787927
26.
Peter-HageneL. P.UllmanS. E. (2018). Longitudinal effects of sexual assault victims’ drinking and self-blame on PTSD. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516636394
27.
RelyeaM.UllmanS. E. (2015). Unsupported or turned against: Understanding how two types of negative social reactions to sexual assault relate to post-assault outcomes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 39, 37–52.
28.
TestaM.VanZile-TamsenC.LivingstonJ. A.KossM. P. (2004). Assessing women’s experiences of sexual aggression using the Sexual Experiences Survey: Evidence for validity and implications for research. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2004.00143.x
29.
UllmanS. E. (2000). Psychometric characteristics of the Social Reactions Questionnaire: A measure of reactions to sexual assault victims. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24, 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2000.tb00208.x
30.
UllmanS. E.FilipasH. H. (2001). Predictors of PTSD symptom severity and social reactions in sexual assault victims. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14, 369–389. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011125220522
31.
UllmanS. E.NajdowskiC. (2010). Understanding alcohol-related sexual assaults: Characteristics and consequences. Violence and Victims, 25, 29–44. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.25.1.29
32.
UllmanS. E.NajdowskiC. J. (2011). Prospective changes in attributions of self-blame and social reactions to women’s disclosures of adult sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 1934–1962. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260510372940
33.
UllmanS. E.O’CallaghanE.LorenzK. (2019). Women’s experiences of impairment and incapacitation during alcohol/drug-related sexual assaults: Toward a survivor-informed approach to measurement. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 2105–2116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1441-6
34.
WalshK.DiLilloD.KlaneckyA.McChargueD. (2013). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: A mechanism in the relationship between early sexual victimization and incapacitated/drug-or-alcohol-facilitated and forcible rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 558–576. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512455511
35.
WalshK.ZinzowH. M.BadourC. L.RuggieroK. J.KilpatrickD. G.ResnickH. S. (2016). Understanding disparities in service seeking following forcible versus drug- or alcohol-facilitated/incapacitated rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 2475–2491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515576968
36.
WilsnackS. C.VogeltanzN. D.KlassenA. D.HarrisT. R. (1997). Childhood sexual abuse and women’s substance abuse: National survey findings. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 58, 264–271. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.1997.58.264
37.
ZinzowH. M.ResnickH. S.AmstadterA. B.McCauleyJ. L.RuggieroK. J.KilpatrickD. G. (2010). Drug- or alcohol-facilitated, incapacitated, and forcible rape in relationship to mental health among a national sample of women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 2217–2236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260509354887
38.
ZinzowH. M.ResnickH. S.McCauleyJ. L.AmstadterA. B.RuggieroK. J.KilpatrickD. G. (2012). Prevalence and risk of psychiatric disorders as a function of variant rape histories: Results from a national survey of women. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 893–902. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0397-1
