Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
Rape acknowledgment and postassault experiences: how acknowledgment status relates to disclosure, coping, worldview,
Heather L Littleton1, Danny Axsom, Carmen Radecki Breitkopf
1Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX. 77341-2447, USA. hlittleton@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Many rape victims are unacknowledged. These victims do not label their experience as rape; instead they give the experience a more benign label, such as a miscommunication. The current study examined the relationship between victims' acknowledgment status and post-assault behaviors, moving beyond prior research. Analyses of covariance were conducted comparing the post-assault experiences of unacknowledged and acknowledged college rape victims (n = 256), controlling for differences in victims' assault characteristics, multiple victimization, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results supported that unacknowledged and acknowledged victims differed in their coping, disclosure, belief in justice, and receipt of egocentric reactions following disclosure. Implications for future work examining the dynamic interplay among assault characteristics, sexual scripts, acknowledgment status, and post-assault factors are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Bystander Effect
Impression Management Techniques III: Aligning Actions
Deindividuation
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Attitudes
