The Effect of Adverse Mental Health and Resilience on Perceived Stress by Sexual Violence History

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Katherine M Anderson, Emory University; Kiyomi Tsuyuki, University of California, San Diego; Alexandra Fernandez Desoto, University of California, San Diego; Jamila K Stockman, University of California, San Diego
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-04-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 by the authors.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084796
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 8
• Grant/Funding Information: The THRIVE Study is supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID Grant #R01AI128803). J.K. Stockman is also supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH Grant #R34MH122014). K. Tsuyuki is supported by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA Grant #K01AA025009) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD Grant #L60MD012089). We acknowledge the San Diego Center for AIDS Research (Grant #P30AI036214), the San Diego CFAR Disparities Core Community Advisory Board, the Center for Community Solutions for their contributions and support in the implementation of the THRIVE Study. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
• Keywords: resilience; Sex Offenses; PTSD; Male; Case-Control Studies; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Mental Health; depression; Female; Rape; sexual violence; stress; Humans; Stress, Psychological
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Sexual violence, including nonconsensual sexual initiation and rape, remains pervasive, with impacts including adverse mental health and dysregulated stress response. Resilience is a promising interventional target. To advance the science, we examined the potential for resilience as an interventional tool by estimating associations between resilience, adverse mental health, and perceived stress among women by sexual violence history and partner perpetration. We analyzed 2018–2020 baseline survey data from 65 women enrolled in a prospective case-control study of sexual violence and HIV susceptibility in San Diego, CA. Multiple linear regressions were performed to examine associations, stratified by sexual violence history. About half of women experienced nonconsensual sexual initiation and/or rape; half of rapes were partner-perpetrated. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was significantly associated with perceived stress among survivors (in regressions with depression and resilience, nonconsensual initiation: β = 6.514, p = 0.003, R2 = 0.616; rape: β = 5.075, p = 0.030, R2 = 0.611). Resilience was associated with lower perceived stress for all women; the effect appeared stronger among survivors of sexual violence (nonconsensual initi-ation: β = −0.599, p < 0.001 vs. β = −0.452, p = 0.019; rape: β = −0.624, p < 0.001 vs. β = −0.421, p = 0.027). Partner perpetration of rape was not associated with perceived stress. Our findings support leveraging resilience and addressing PTSD to reduce perceived stress among women with lifetime experiences of sexual violence.