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Published on: March 8, 2018
Lifetime Sexual Victimization and Dissociation: Longitudinal Pathways Through Emotion Dysregulation
Haley Church1, Rebecca L Brock1, Shaina A Kumar2
1Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
Violence Against Women
|July 27, 2026
Summary
Women with lifetime sexual revictimization show higher emotion dysregulation and dissociation. Emotional clarity difficulties partially explain this link over time in sexual violence survivors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Trauma Studies
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Sexual violence is a significant public health issue.
- Emotion dysregulation and dissociation are common in survivors.
- Understanding temporal links is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine temporal associations between emotion dysregulation and dissociation in sexual violence survivors.
- To investigate the role of revictimization history.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 490 women.
- Assessed sexual victimization history (childhood, emerging adulthood).
- Measured emotion dysregulation and dissociation over 16 months.
Main Results:
- Lifetime revictimization linked to higher emotion dysregulation and dissociation.
- Emotional clarity difficulties mediated the relationship between revictimization and later dissociation.
- Single period victimization showed less severe outcomes than lifetime revictimization.
Conclusions:
- Lifetime sexual revictimization confers significant risk for persistent emotion dysregulation and dissociation.
- Improving emotional clarity may mitigate dissociation in survivors with revictimization histories.
- Findings highlight the need for targeted support for survivors with complex trauma histories.
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