Journal of Interpersonal
Violence
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Women's Reactions to Interpersonal Violence Research: A
Longitudinal Study
Katie M. Edwards, Danielle R. Probst, Erin C. Tansill and Christine A. Gidycz
J Interpers Violence 2013 28: 254 originally published online 30 August 2012
DOI: 10.1177/0886260512454721
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454721
urnal of Interpersonal ViolenceEdwards et al.
2012
JIV28210.1177/0886260512454721Jo
Article
Women’s Reactions to
Interpersonal Violence
Research: A Longitudinal
Study
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
28(2) 254­–272
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/0886260512454721
http://jiv.sagepub.com
Katie M. Edwards,1 Danielle R. Probst,2
Erin C. Tansill,3 and Christine A. Gidycz3
Abstract
This study assessed women’s immediate and long-term reactions to completing self-report measures of interpersonal violence. College women
completed surveys at the beginning and end of a 2-month academic quarter for course credit. Results showed that 7.7% of participants experienced
immediate negative emotional reactions to research participation. Greater
immediate negative reactions were related to interpersonal victimization
and psychological distress variables. Attrition from the study over the
2-month follow-up was not predicted by participants’ immediate negative emotional reactions to the research or anticipation of future distress.
Of the participants who returned for the follow-up, 2.1% of participants
reported experiencing distress over the interim period as a result of their
initial participation in the study. These long-term reactions were bivariately
related to a number of victimization, psychological distress, and reaction
variables measured at the first study session. However, in the regression
analyses, only immediate negative emotional reactions to the research
and anticipation of future distress predicted long-term negative emotional
reactions.
1
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
3
Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
2
Corresponding Author:
Katie M. Edwards, PhD, University of New Hampshire, 10 Library Way, Durham, NH 03824,
USA
Email: [email protected]
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Edwards et al.
255
Keywords
interpersonal violence, victimization, ethics, research, women
Interpersonal violence, which includes sexual, physical, and psychological
violence in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, occurs at alarmingly
high rates and leads to numerous deleterious consequences to victims and
society. In an effort to create effective intervention and prevention efforts,
it is critical to conduct research related to the cause and consequences of
interpersonal violence. However, there are frequent concerns voiced by
Institutional Review Boards about the impact of sensitive research topics
on the welfare of participants as well as the belief that some populations are
too vulnerable to participate in research, especially victims of interpersonal
violence (Becker-Blease & Freyd, 2006). Given these concerns, over the
past decade or so researchers have begun to assess participants’ reactions to
participation in interpersonal violence research. This research suggests that
only a small number (i.e., 4% to 5%) of participants report experiencing
negative emotional reactions in the immediate aftermath of participating in
this type of research and that these negative reactions are correlated with
participants’ more generalized levels of psychological distress (Carlson
et al., 2003; DePrince & Freyd, 2004; Edwards, Kearns, Calhoun, & Gidycz,
2009; Shorey, Cornelius, & Bell, 2011). However, previous studies have
failed to simultaneously and comprehensively assess participants’ reactions
to survey questions that inquire about multiple forms (i.e., sexual, physical,
psychological) of interpersonal violence in different developmental periods
(i.e., childhood, adolescence, adulthood). For example, the Edwards et al.’s
study focused solely on college students’ reactions to questions about sexual victimization in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, whereas
the Shorey et al.’s study focused solely on college students’ reactions to
questions about dating violence in young adulthood. Thus, it is unclear
whether answering questions about some experiences of interpersonal violence are more or less upsetting than other questions.
In addition, there are only two published studies that have assessed anticipated (Edwards et al., 2009) or actual (Martin, Perrott, Morris, & Romans,
1999) long-term effects of participating in interpersonal trauma research. In
a cross-sectional study that inquired about sexual victimization, Edwards et
al. found that women, on average, disagreed with the item assessing anticipation of future distress as a result of research participation. Although this
finding is promising, studies that include actual follow-up sessions are
gravely needed given that social psychological research suggests that
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256
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
individuals are generally poor predictors of how they will feel in the future
(Ayton, Pott, & Elwakili, 2007). In the only longitudinal study conducted to
date, Martin et al. found that 2% of community women reported negative feelings 6 years after completing a survey about child sexual abuse. However, the
authors stated that some women were thought to have misunderstood the
question, and, thus, the validity of this finding is questionable. Taken together,
the Edwards et al. and Martin et al. studies provide preliminary evidence that
only a small minority of participants experience long-term distress associated
with participating in interpersonal violence research, but further research is
needed to confirm and extend these findings.
Given this lack of longitudinal research, there are no studies that provide
data on the relationship between participants’ initial reactions to interpersonal
violence research and attrition from multisession studies. Although not specific
to initial reactions, some longitudinal studies have found that experiences of
interpersonal violence predict study attrition (e.g., Gidycz, Orchowski, Probst,
Edwards, Murphy, & Tansill, in press), although other longitudinal studies have
not found these relationships (e.g., Martin et al., 1999). Furthermore, psychiatric research not specific to interpersonal violence has found that immediate
negative emotional reactions to research participation are generally unrelated
or minimally related to attrition in longitudinal studies (see Jorm, Kelly, &
Morgan, 2007, for a review). However, we do not know that these findings
would necessarily generalize to studies of interpersonal violence based on the
results of a literature review (e.g., Jorm et al., 2007) that found immediate negative emotional reactions are more likely to occur in psychological studies of
traumatic experiences (e.g., interpersonal violence, combat trauma) than non–
trauma-focused psychological studies.
Although our knowledge regarding participants’ reactions to interpersonal
violence research has increased over the past decade, there are limitations to
the existing body of research such that the vast majority of published studies
are not comprehensive in simultaneously assessing multiple forms of interpersonal violence across the lifespan. Moreover, most published research
assessed participants’ immediate reactions and not their long-term reactions
to research participation or how immediate reactions relate to study attrition.
The purpose of the current study was to explore these gaps in the literature by
assessing college women’s reactions to completing a comprehensive battery
of interpersonal victimization surveys as well as their reactions to the study
two months after their initial participation. College women are an important
group to consider, as the majority of interpersonal violence research is conducted with this population. In addition, research suggests that college-aged
women are the most vulnerable age group to experience a sexual assault
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Edwards et al.
257
(Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000) and intimate partner violence (U.S.
Department of Justice, 2001).
Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that approximately 5%
of participants would report experiencing immediate negative emotional reactions and that these reactions would be positively related to various types
of interpersonal victimization experiences (i.e., childhood sexual abuse
[CSA], childhood physical abuse, childhood psychological abuse, exposure to
physical domestic violence, exposure to psychological domestic violence,
adolescence/adulthood sexual victimization, adolescence/adulthood physical
victimization, adolescence/adulthood psychological victimization) and
psychological distress variables (i.e., global psychological distress, posttraumatic stress symptomatology, dissociation, avoidance coping). However,
given the dearth of existing research, we had no a priori hypotheses about
which interpersonal victimization variables and psychological distress
variables would be more or less correlative with immediate negative emotional reactions. It was also hypothesized that immediate negative emotional
reactions to research participation would be significantly predictive of study
attrition, although this relationship was expected to be small. Finally, of those
who returned for the second study session, it was hypothesized that only a
small minority (< 2%) of the sample would report experiencing long-term
negative emotional reactions and that these reactions would, in general,
be predicted by interpersonal victimization, psychological distress, and immediate negative emotional reaction variables, all measured at the first study
session. We had no a priori hypotheses about which variables would be more
or less predictive of long-term negative emotional reactions.
Method
Participants
Participants at Time 1 were 774 women from a medium-sized Midwestern
university. At Time 2, 660 (85.3%) participants returned. The average age
of participants was 18.94 (SD = 2.59, range: 18-64). The majority of participants identified as Caucasian (87.7%) followed by African American
(4.7%), Asian (4.3%), and multiracial/Other (3.3%). Approximately 17%
reported that their combined family/parents’ annual income was less than
US$50,000, 31% reported that it was between US$51,000 and US$100,000,
and 26% stated that it was greater than US$100,000; 26% of people stated
that they did not know their combined family/parents’ annual income. With
regard to sexual orientation, 88.7% of women reported exclusively heterosexual experiences, with the remaining women reporting some combination
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
of heterosexual and homosexual experiences (11.0%) or exclusively homosexual experiences (<1%).
Measures
Childhood sexual abuse. The Childhood Sexual Victimization Questionnaire (CSVQ; Finkelhor, 1979) was administered at Time 1 to assess sexual
victimization experiences before age 14. Participants answer “yes” or “no” to
eight behaviorally worded question to indicate whether they had certain sexual experiences before the age of 14, including noncontact childhood sexual
abuse (CSA; e.g., another person showing their sex organs to the child), contact CSA (e.g., another person fondling the child), attempted rape CSA (e.g.,
attempted vaginal, oral, or anal penetration of the child), and completed rape
CSA (e.g., actual vaginal, oral, or anal penetration of the child). Participants
who indicated having any of these experiences answered follow-up questions
to assess the age difference between the victim and the perpetrator and the
main reason the individual participated (e.g., curiosity; other person threatened to hurt or punish child; other person used physical force). Participants
were considered to be victims of CSA if they endorsed one or more of the
eight experiences and that the perpetrator was more than 5 years older and/or
force or the threat of force was used. CSA was considered a dichotomous
variable and women were classified as no CSA history (coded 0) or any CSA
history (coded 1).
Childhood physical and psychological abuse and exposure to domestic violence.
The Parent–Child Conflict Tactics Scale (PCCTS; Straus, 1979) was used at
Time 1 to assess childhood physical (nine behaviorally worded items) and
psychological abuse (two behaviorally worded items) as well as exposure to
physical (nine behaviorally worded items) and psychological (two behaviorally worded items) domestic violence occurring before the age of 18. Participants were considered to be victims of a type of childhood abuse or exposure
to domestic violence if they endorsed one or more items on that particular
subscale. Specifically, each participant was coded as either 0 (no history) or
1 (any history) on each of the following four variables: childhood physical
abuse, childhood psychological abuse, exposure to physical domestic abuse,
and exposure to psychological domestic abuse. Of note, we only used the
items that Straus defined as severe (e.g., “threatened to hit or throw something”) on the Psychological Abuse subscale of the PPCTS and excluded the
items defined as moderate (e.g., “stomped out of the room”). This decision
was made based on the normative nature of the moderate items of this measure, as discussed in previous research (e.g., Edwards, Desai, Gidycz, &
VanWynsberghe, 2009).
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Edwards et al.
259
Adolescent/adulthood physical and psychological victimization. The Conflict
Tactics Scale—Revised (CTSR; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman,
1996) was used at Time 1 to assess for a history of physical victimization (12
behaviorally worded items; e.g., “pushed or shoved me,” “beat me up”) and
psychological victimization (four behaviorally worded items, e.g., “called me
fat or ugly”) perpetrated by a dating partner since the age of 14 to the time of
the current study. Women who answered affirmatively to at least one of the
items on the Physical Victimization subscale or Psychological Victimization
subscale were considered to have a history of that particular form of abuse in
adolescence/adulthood (and coded either 0 for no history or 1 for any history
on both subscales). Similar to the PPCTS, on the CTSR, we only used the
severe psychological victimization items.
Adolescent/adulthood sexual victimization. The Sexual Experiences Survey
(SES; Koss & Gidycz, 1985) was used at Time 1 to assess adolescent/adulthood
sexual victimization occurring after the age of 14. The SES includes 10
behaviorally worded items to assess a wide range of unwanted sexual experiences, including unwanted contact, sexual coercion, attempted rape, and
completed rape. Women who answered affirmatively to one of the 10
unwanted sexual experiences were considered to have a history of adolescent/
adulthood sexual assault victimization (and coded either 0 for no history or 1
for any history).
Global psychological distress. Global psychological distress was measured
by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983).
The BSI includes nine subscales (somatization, obsessive-compulsive,
interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety,
paranoid ideation, and psychoticism). When completing this measure at
Time 1, participants were instructed to answer with regard to how they
have been feeling during the past seven days. Participants respond to this
53-item measure on a 5-point scale ranging from not at all (0) to extremely
(4). Items were summed and averaged, and higher scores are indicative of
greater global psychological distress. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s
alpha) was .95 in the current sample.
Posttraumatic stress symptomatology. The Impact of Events Scale—Revised
(IES-R; Weiss & Marmar, 1996) is a 22-item scale that assesses posttraumatic stress symptomatology. The IES-R includes three subscales, consistent
with the diagnostic criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder: hyperarousal,
avoidance, and numbing symptoms. When completing this measure at Time
1, participants were instructed to answer with regard to how they have been
feeling during the past seven days about the most upsetting event experienced
during their lifetime. Response options are on a 5-point scale and range from
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
not at all (0) to extremely (4). Items were summed and averaged, and higher
scores are indicative of greater posttraumatic stress symptomatology. Internal
consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) was .94 in the current sample.
Dissociation. The Multiscale Dissociation Inventory (Briere, 2002) is a
30-item scale that measures dissociative symptomatology (e.g., “feeling outside of yourself”) often associated with traumatic events. When completing
this measure at Time 1, participants were instructed to answer with regard to
experiences during the past month. Response options are on a 5-point scale
and range from never (1) to very often (5). Items were summed and averaged,
and higher scores are indicative of greater dissociation. Internal consistency
(Cronbach’s alpha) was .92 for this sample.
Avoidance coping. The 16-item Tertiary Disengagement subscale from the
Coping Strategy Inventory (CSI; Tobin, Holroyd, Reynolds, & Wigal, 1989)
was used to assess participants’ use of avoidance coping. The Disengagement
subscale consists of items from the Problem Avoidance, Wishful Thinking,
Social Withdrawal, and Self-Criticism primary subscales. Participants completed this measure at Time 1 and were instructed to answer with regard to
how they generally respond to stressful events in their lives. Response options
for each item were on a 5-point scale and ranged from not at all (1) to very
much (5). Items were summed and averaged, and higher scores are indicative
of greater use of avoidance coping. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha)
was .88 in the current sample.
Negative emotional reactions to research. The Emotional Reactions (4 items;
for example, “The research raised emotional issues for me I had not expected”)
subscale of the Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire (RRPQ;
Newman, Willard, Sinclair, & Kaloupek, 2001) was administered as the last
survey at Time 1. Participants were instructed to answer the questions based on
their reactions to participating in the study using the following 5-point scale: 1
= strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly
agree. The immediate negative emotional reactions variable was scored both
continuously (Cronbach’s alpha = .87) and dichotomously. As a continuous
variable, mean scores were computed so that participants’ total score ranged
from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating greater levels of immediate negative
emotional reactions. In order to create dichotomous variables, participants with
mean scores of 4 or greater were considered to have experienced immediate
negative emotional reactions at Time 1. A value of 4 was chosen as the cutoff
since it indicates that, on average, participants agreed with the items on the
Immediate Negative Emotional Reaction subscale; this coding scheme is consistent with previous research (Edwards et al., 2009). Based on previous
research (Edwards et al., 2009), an additional item was included on the RRPQ
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Edwards et al.
261
at Time 1 to assess participants’ expectations of experiencing future distress
(i.e., “I will experience distress in the future as a result of participating in this
study”). Scores in this item ranged from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating
greater levels of anticipated future distress related to research participation.
For the Time two survey session, the RRPQ was modified by the researchers in consultation with the author of the RRPQ (Elana Newman, personal
communication, July 25, 2007) to assess participants’ long-term negative
emotional reactions to research participation (e.g., “I was emotional during
the past 2 months as a result of participating in this study”). Participants were
instructed to answer the questions on the basis of their reactions over the past
2 months since participating in the first session of the study using the same
5-point scale discussed above. Similar to the coding scheme used at Time 1,
at Time 2, long-term negative emotional reactions were considered continuous (Cronbach’s alpha = .87) and dichotomous variables.
Procedure
Women were recruited through introductory psychology courses and
received course credit for their participation. Participants were required to be
older than 18 and to identify as female to participate. Women interested in
participating in the study signed up for both the Time 1 and the Time 2 survey sessions simultaneously at the beginning of an academic quarter using
an online system. Both Time 1 and Time 2 testing sessions, which were two
months apart, included informed consent, survey completion, and debriefing
information. Participants completed psychological distress and victimization
surveys prior to completing the RRPQ at Time 1; at Time 2, the RRPQ was
the first survey, and although additional surveys were administered at Time
2, they are not presented here. Prior approval of the study was obtained from
the university’s Institutional Review Board.
Results
Immediate Negative Emotional Reactions
It was hypothesized that 5% of participants would report experiencing immediate negative emotional reactions. Using the Time 1 RRPQ Immediate
Negative Emotional Reactions subscale that was coded dichotomously, 7.7%
(n = 59) of women had mean scores that were greater than or equal to 4,
which indicates that these women, on average, agreed with items assessing
immediate negative emotional reactions.
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262
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
To test the hypothesis that immediate negative emotional reactions
(continuous variable) would be positively related to various types of interpersonal victimization experiences (dichotomous variables), a series of
t tests were conducted using a Bonferroni correction (alpha = .05/8 = .006).
As demonstrated in Table 1, all eight types of victimization were significantly
associated with immediate negative emotional reactions. To test the related
hypothesis that immediate negative emotional reactions (continuous variable) would be positively related to all four types of psychological distress,
five Bonferroni-corrected (alpha = .05/4 = .01) bivariate correlations were
conducted. As demonstrated in Table 2, results supported all of these
hypotheses.
Next, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the most salient correlates of immediate negative emotional reactions
(see Table 3); given the number of variables in each of the blocks, we used
a more stringent alpha criterion (p < .01). The first block, which contained
victimization variables, was significant, F(8, 715) = 12.16, p < .001, R2 =
.11. In the presence of other model variables, CSA, adolescent/adulthood
sexual victimization, and adolescent/adulthood physical victimization
emerged as significant and unique predictors of immediate negative
emotional reactions. The second block, which contained the addition
of psychological distress variables, was significant, F(12, 711) = 19.16,
p < .001, R2 = .24. In the presence of other model variables, posttraumatic
stress symptomatology and dissociation were significant and unique predictors of immediate negative emotional reactions. Furthermore, CSA and
adolescent/adulthood physical victimization remained significant and
unique predictors of immediate negative emotional reactions in the second
block, whereas adolescent/adulthood sexual victimization did not.
Attrition as a Function of Initial Reactions to Research
A logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis that
immediate negative emotional reactions to research participation and
anticipation of future distress as a result of research participation (predictor
variables) would predict attrition from the study (criterion variable). The
overall model was nonsignificant, G2(2, N = 767) = 1.54, p = .463, Nagelkerke
R2 = <1%, as were the coefficients for both immediate negative emotional
reactions, Wald χ2 = 0.03, p = .872, odds ratio (OR) = 0.98, β = –.02, SE =
0.11, and anticipation of future distress, Wald χ2 = 1.16, p = .28, OR = 0.88,
β = –.13, SE = 0.12. Of note, we also tested whether attrition varied as a
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263
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9.1
45.6
33.2
21.8
27.6
43.1
36.2
29.7
2.91 (1.05)
2.48 (1.02)
2.53 (1.06)
2.59 (1.02)
2.48 (1.02)
2.53 (1.02)
2.61 (1.04)
2.59 (1.06)
Victim
2.24 (0.97)
2.16 (0.96)
2.19 (0.95)
2.22 (0.97)
2.23 (0.98)
2.15 (0.95)
2.13 (0.93)
2.18 (0.95)
Nonvictim
5.38*
4.45*
4.58*
4.29*
3.02*
5.23*
6.56*
5.29*
t
0.66
0.32
0.34
0.37
0.25
0.39
0.49
0.40
d
2.26 (0.90)
1.88 (0.83)
2.05 (0.93)
1.91 (0.84)
2.01 (0.93)
2.07 (0.85)
2.13 (0.90)
2.11 (0.90)
Victim
1.90 (0.85)
2.00 (0.89)
1.87 (0.82)
2.00 (0.93)
1.90 (0.82)
1.83 (0.85)
1.82 (0.81)
1.86 (0.83)
Nonvictim
3.01*
1.81
2.43
1.20
1.57
3.62*
4.38*
3.44*
t
0.41
0.14
0.21
0.11
0.12
0.28
0.36
0.29
d
Long-Term Negative Emotional Reactionsc
Notes: DV = domestic violence; A/A = adolescent/adulthood; d = Cohen’s d (effect size).
a
Percentage of women reporting that specific type of victimization.
b
Means (and standard deviations) of Time 1 negative emotional reactions subscale (range: 1-5) of RRPQ (Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire) as a function of victimization.
c
Means (and standard deviations) of Time 2 negative emotional reactions subscale (range: 1-5) of RRPQ as a function of victimization.
*p < .006.
Childhood sexual abuse
Childhood physical abuse
Childhood psychological abuse
Exposure to physical DV
Exposure to psychological DV
A/A sexual victimization
A/A physical victimization
A/A psychological victimization
Victima
Immediate Negative Emotional Reactionsb
Table 1. Rates of Victimization Experiences and Associations With Immediate and Long-Term Negative Emotions Reactions
264
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2.40 (1.00)
1.48 (0.85)
1.99 (0.86)
0.45 (0.30)
1.31 (0.90)
1.40 (0.34)
2.34 (0.71)
1.93 (0.89)
1.41 (0.92)
1.71 (0.81)
0.27 (0.39)
0.93 (0.80)
1.24 (0.33)
2.08 (0.64)
Nonvictima
Mean (SD)
—
1
.40*
—
2
.52*
.30*
—
3
.28*
.15*
.28*
—
4
.35*
.16*
.27*
.39*
—
5
.31*
.23*
.32*
.65*
.35*
—
6
Means (and standard deviations) on continuous variables as a function of victimization history: any victimization history (nTime 1 = 616, nTime 2 = 519)
compared to no victimization history (nTime 1 = 165, nTime 2 = 139).Victim and nonvictim means are significantly different from one another (p < .01 or
p < .001) on all variables except for anticipation of future distress, which is nonsignificant.
*p < .001.
a
1. Negative emotional reactions (Time 1)
2. Anticipation of future distress (Time 1)
3. Negative emotional reactions (Time 2)
4. Global psychological distress (Time 1)
5. Posttraumatic stress symptomatology (Time 1)
6. Dissociation (Time 1)
7. Avoidant coping (Time 1)
Victim
Meana (SD)
Table 2. Bivariate Correlations for Reaction to Research and Psychological Distress Variables
.29*
.14*
.25*
.45*
.48*
.39*
—
7
Edwards et al.
265
Table 3. Multiple Linear Regression Analyses Predicting Immediate and Long-Term
Negative Emotional Reactions
Immediate Negative
Long-Term Negative
Emotional Reactions
Emotional Reactions
β
SE (B)
F
β
SE (B)
F
Block 1
Childhood sexual abuse
0.141 0.127 15.17* 0.078 0.123 3.74
Childhood physical abuse
0.057 0.089 1.66
—
—
—
Childhood psychological abuse
0.065 0.097 2.02
—
—
—
Exposure to physical DV
0.104 0.112 5.06*
—
—
—
Exposure to psychological DV −0.063 0.106 1.75
—
—
—
A/A sexual victimization
0.101 0.075 7.27* 0.110 0.073 7.12*
A/A physical victimization
0.142 0.087 11.48* 0.119 0.082 6.87*
A/A psychological victimization
0.051 0.091 1.51
0.027 0.087 0.34
Block 2
Childhood sexual abuse
0.128 0.118 14.58* 0.071 0.117 3.47
Childhood physical abuse
0.056 0.083 1.81
—
—
—
Childhood psychological abuse
0.059 0.090 1.90
—
—
—
0.104 0.104 5.86*
—
—
—
Exposure to physical DV
—
—
—
Exposure to psychological DV −0.115 0.100 6.74
A/A sexual victimization
0.053 0.071 2.31
0.067 0.069 2.93
A/A physical victimization
0.114 0.082 8.44** 0.079 0.078 3.34
A/A psychological victimization
0.003 0.085 0.00 −0.019 0.083 0.184
Global psychological distress
−0.015 0.002 0.10
0.078 0.002 2.09
Posttraumatic stress
0.224 0.002 32.68* 0.108 0.002 5.87*
symptomatology
Dissociation
0.180 0.004 15.82* 0.184 0.004 12.57*
Avoidant coping
0.076 0.004 3.63
0.065 0.003 2.09
Block 3
Childhood sexual abuse
—
—
—
0.021 0.106 0.38
—
—
—
—
—
—
Childhood physical abuse
Childhood psychological abuse
—
—
—
—
—
—
Exposure to physical DV
—
—
—
—
—
—
Exposure to psychological DV
—
—
—
—
—
—
A/A sexual victimization
—
—
—
0.044 0.062 1.56
A/A physical victimization
—
—
—
0.015 0.071 0.16
A/A psychological victimization
—
—
— –0.024 0.074 0.38
Global psychological distress
—
—
—
0.084 0.002 3.10
(Time 1)
(continued)
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Table 3. (continued)
Immediate Negative
Emotional Reactions
β
SE (B)
F
Posttraumatic stress
symptomatology
Dissociation
Avoidant coping
Immediate negative emotional
reactions
Anticipation of future distress
Long-Term Negative
Emotional Reactions
β
SE (B)
F
—
—
—
0.009 0.002
0.05
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
0.084 0.004 3.14
0.035 0.003 0.75
0.416 0.034 109.77*
—
—
—
0.111 0.038
9.15*
Note: DV = domestic violence; A/A = adolescent/adulthood.
*p < .01.
function of the eight victimization and four psychological distress variables; all of these tests were nonsignificant.
Long-Term Negative Emotional Reactions
It was hypothesized that approximately 2% of returning participants would
report experiencing long-term negative emotional reactions at the follow-up.
Using the Time 2 RRPQ Long-Term Negative Emotional Reactions subscale
that was coded dichotomously, 2.1% (n = 16) of women had mean scores that
were greater than or equal to 4, which indicates that these women, on average, agreed with items assessing long-term negative emotional reactions.
To test the hypothesis that long-term negative emotional reactions (continuous variable measured at Time 2) would be positively related to various types
of interpersonal victimization experiences as measured at Time 1 (dichotomous
variables), a series of t tests were conducted using a Bonferroni correction
(alpha = .05/8 = .006). As demonstrated in Table 1, results were only partially
supported. Only CSA and adolescent/adulthood sexual, physical, and psychological victimization were significantly associated with long-term negative
emotional reactions. To test the related hypothesis that long-term negative
emotional reactions (continuous variable measured at Time 2) would be positively related to Time 1 psychological distress and Time 1 immediate reactions
to research participation variables, six Bonferroni-corrected (alpha = .05/6 = .008)
bivariate correlations were conducted. As demonstrated in Table 2, results
supported all of these hypotheses.
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Edwards et al.
267
Next, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to determine
the most salient prospective predictors of long-term negative emotional reactions (see Table 3); given the number of variables in each of the blocks, we used
a more stringent alpha criterion (p < .01). The first block, which contained
victimization variables significantly related at the bivariate level with longterm negative emotional reactions, was significant, F(4, 616) = 8.22, p < .001,
R2 = .05. In the presence of other model variables, adolescent/adulthood sexual
victimization and adolescent/adulthood physical victimization emerged as
significant and unique predictors of long-term negative emotional reactions.
The second block, which contained the addition of psychological distress variables, was significant, F(8, 612) = 9.06, p < .001, R2 = .16. In the presence of
other model variables, posttraumatic stress symptomatology and dissociation
were significant and unique predictors of long-term negative emotional reactions. However, adolescent/adulthood sexual victimization and adolescent/
adulthood physical victimization were no longer significant. The third block,
which contained the addition of immediate reaction to research variables, was
significant, F(10, 610) = 15.09, p < .001, R2 = .33. In the presence of other
model variables, immediate negative emotional reactions and anticipation of
future distress were the only unique predictors of long-term negative emotional
reactions.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to assess college women’s reactions to a
comprehensive assessment of multiple forms of interpersonal violence as
well as their reactions to the study two months after their initial participation. In the current study, a slightly higher percentage (7.7%) of women
reported immediate negative emotional reactions than in previous research
using college samples (4% to 5%; DePrince & Freyd, 2004; Edwards et al.,
2009). This could be due to the fact that the current study comprehensively
assessed all forms of victimization, whereas these previous studies did not.
Results supported the hypothesis that higher levels of immediate negative
emotional reactions would be related to victimization and psychological distress variables, although women on average disagreed with the items assessing
negative emotional reactions (nonvictimized women just disagreed more
strongly). In the regression analysis that included all victimization and psychological distress variables, posttraumatic stress symptomatology and dissociation
were the strongest predictors of immediate negative emotional reactions to
research, although CSA and adolescent/adulthood physical victimization were
also significant predictors. These findings confirm and extend previous research
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
findings, suggesting that it is not victimization per se, but the psychological
sequelae associated with victimization (or other traumatic/stressful experiences) that most strongly predict immediate negative emotional reactions. In
addition, results from the current study suggest that questions that inquire about
sexual and physical forms of victimization are more strongly associated with
negative emotional reactions than questions that inquire about psychological
victimization. Although this finding is consistent with the high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder often found among victims of sexual assault and physical partner violence (Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders, & Best, 1993),
this diverges from research demonstrating that psychological partner abuse
leads to a host of negative psychological consequences, and sometimes even
more so than other forms of partner abuse (Marshall, 1999; Mechanic, Weaver,
& Resick, 2008). The findings from the current study could also be a result of
the instrumentation (PPCTS—Straus, 1979; CTSR—Straus et al., 1994) used
to assess psychological victimization variables. The few items contained on
each of these subscales primarily assess threats of physical violence to intimidate and, to a lesser extent, verbal abuse and controlling/isolating behaviors. It
is unclear how results might have differed if a more inclusive measure of psychological victimization was used.
In addition to assessing the immediate negative emotional reactions to
research participation, the current study employed a 2-month follow-up to
determine whether initial reactions predicted study attrition as well as the
prevalence and predictors of long-term negative emotional reactions to
research participation. Contrary to what was hypothesized, immediate negative emotional reactions at Time 1 did not predict attrition from the study,
which could suggest that the initial distress experienced is minimal and
transient. This is consistent with the finding that 2.1% of participants
reported long-term distress, a reduction from the original 7.7%. Based on
these findings, and the findings that none of the victimization or distress
variables predicted attrition, it appears that study attrition was unrelated to
the actual study and more likely related to extraneous factors (e.g., scheduling conflict, research credits fulfilled).
Furthermore, results suggested that whereas all Time 1 psychological distress
variables were bivariately related to long-term negative emotional reactions to
research participation, only some of the Time 1 victimization variables were
bivariately related to these long-term reactions. Similar to the regression analysis
with immediate negative emotional reactions, in the presence of posttraumatic
stress disorder and dissociation, none of the Time 1 victimization variables predicted long-term negative emotional reactions. This further underscores the
importance of trauma-related symptoms, as opposed to the traumatic experiences
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Edwards et al.
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themselves, in our understanding of negative emotional reactions to research
participation. However, in the third and final block of the regression predicting
long-term negative emotional reactions none of the victimization or psychological distress variables were significant in the presence of immediate negative
emotional reactions and anticipation of future distress. Taken together, it appears
that trauma-related symptoms predict immediate negative emotional reactions
and these initial reactions in turn predict long-term negative emotional reactions
to research participation.
Although these findings add to our understanding of women’s reactions to
interpersonal violence research, several limitations should be noted. First,
although the sample was large, it was relatively homogenous, which limits
the generalizability of these findings to more diverse college students.
Second, the current study only included women; men’s reactions to interpersonal violence needs to be further investigated given the relative lack of
information on this topic (Edwards, Desai, & Gidycz, 2012; Shorey et al.,
2011). Third, the 2-month follow-up was relatively brief and did not allow us
to capture reactions to research participation that may have persisted for longer time periods.
Overall, these findings are consistent with previous research, which suggests that for the vast majority of women participation in interpersonal
trauma research is not distressing. The current study extends previous findings by demonstrating the various correlates and predictors of negative
emotional reactions. In addition, the current study extends previous work
by documenting that very few women report long-term negative emotional
reactions associated with research participation. Nevertheless, it is troubling that there are some women, albeit a small minority (n = 16, 2.1% of
the sample), who indicated experiencing negative emotional reactions two
months following their initial participation. Whereas preliminary findings
suggest that these long-term reactions are predicted by baseline psychological functioning and immediate reactions to research participation (more so
than victimization experiences), future research is needed to better understand the factors contributing to these negative responses. Qualitative
methodologies, in which women are asked more directly to describe their
experiences participating in interpersonal violence research, could be particularly useful for better understanding both immediate and long-term
negative emotional reactions. Furthermore, experimental studies in which
participants are randomly assigned to complete both victimization and distress measures only victimization measures or only distress measures could
help researchers identify more specific and causal relationships. By
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Journal of Interpersonal Violence 28(2)
developing a better understanding of participants’ reactions to involvement
in interpersonal violence research, researchers can take necessary efforts to
minimize negative emotional reactions, all while working toward the larger
goal of the primary prevention of interpersonal violence and the provision
of effective services to victims.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this project provided by the
Ohio University Counsel on Research Student Enhancement.
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Bios
Katie M. Edwards, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of
New Hampshire, Durham. Specific research interests include predictors and corre­
lates of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration, leaving processes in relationships characterized by IPV, disclosure of IPV experiences and social
reactions to these disclosures, and ethics of IPV research. She is committed to using
research to inform legislative action and promote social change.
Danielle R. Probst is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psycho-oncology and Palliative
Medicine at The Ohio State University’s Center for Palliative Care. Her clinical interests include working with cancer patients and their families experiencing anticipatory
grief and psychological distress. She is also committed to working with patients who
are survivors of childhood abuse and adulthood victimization. Her research interests
include exploring the traumatic effects of chronic illness on the patient and family as
well as the impact of abuse experiences on end-of-life issues.
Erin C. Tansill is a 5th year graduate student at Ohio University. She is currently
working on her dissertation entitled “Affective Modulation of Nociception in
Interpersonal Violence Survivors.” Along with the physical health and pain correlates
of interpersonal violence, Erin is interested in researching treatment outcomes of support groups for trauma survivors. Erin has been continually committed to counseling
sexual assault and other trauma survivors throughout her graduate school career. She
strives to continue to learn from survivors’ difficult and empowering personal life
stories.
Christine A. Gidycz, PhD, is a professor of psychology and director of clinical training at Ohio University, Athens. Research interests include the evaluation of sexualassault-prevention and risk-reduction programs and correlates, predictors, and
consequences of various forms of violence. Her work has been funded through the
Centers for Disease Control and the Ohio Department of Health. She has served on
various state and national panels that address violence-related issues.
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