How sexual assault can impact distress at the time it occurred and later on

What is it about?

Sexual assault is a big problem on college campuses. This study showed that what happens during a sexual assault and where it happened can influence the distress people have afterwards. We looked at people's reporting of distress at the time the assault happened and then later (sometimes years later). We found that people reported higher distress at the time of the assault when more physical force was used and sexual penetration occurred. We also found that people reported higher current distress when the sexual assault occurred in a private setting, the person felt intoxicated, more physical force was used, and penetration occurred.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This helps us better understand how sexual assault, including where it happened, can impact the distress people feel because of what happened (at the time or currently).