Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T19:12:18.977Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychological Reactions of Women Who Have Been Raped

A Descriptive and Comparative Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gillian C. Mezey  and
Pamela J. Taylor
Gillian C. Mezey*
Affiliation:
The London Hospital, Whitechapel, currently Senior Registrar, The Maudsley Hospital
Pamela J. Taylor
Affiliation:
The Institute of Psychiatry, London and Hon. Consultant Psychiatrist, Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals
*
∗The Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Twelve women, reporting rape to the police, were interviewed on three occasions over a 4-month period. Their psychological and behavioural experiences, during that time, were compared with those of 12 controls: women who were attending a Family Planning Clinic and without a history of such trauma, and small numbers of victims of non-sexual assault. All victims showed, initially, high levels of distress or some psychopathology but only the rape victims were reliable in attending follow-up appointments. In all but one case the acute, intense symptoms of distress resolved, but other substantial changes in lifestyle had taken place. The particular difficulties in counselling and research in this area were highlighted by this pilot work. Would-be counsellors should be cautious about taking on this kind of work unless considerable practical and emotional support is available to them.

Type
Annotation
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 152 , Issue 3 , March 1988 , pp. 330 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM-III). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Amir, W. (1971) Patterns in Forcible Rape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Atkeson, B. M., Calhoun, K. S., Resick, P. & Ellis, E. M. (1982) Victims of rape. Repeated assessment of depressive symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 96–101.Google Scholar
Bateman, A. W. (1986) Rape: the forgotten victim. British Medical Journal, 292, 1306.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelsohn, M., Mock, J. & Erbaugh, J. (1961) An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571.Google Scholar
Brown Miller, S. (1975) Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Burgess, A. W. & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974a) Rape trauma syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 981–988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burgess, A. W. & Holmstrom, L. L. (1974b) Rape: Victims of Crisis. Bowie, Maryland: Brady Co.Google Scholar
Burgess, A. W. & Holmstrom, L. L. (1978) Rape: Crisis and Recovery. Bowie, Maryland: Brady Co.Google Scholar
Conklin, J. E. (1972) Robbery and the Criminal Justice System. Philadelphia: Lippincott.Google Scholar
Derogatis, L. R., Rickels, K. & Rock, A. F. (1976) The SCL-90 and the MMPI: a step in the validation of a new self-report scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 280–289.Google Scholar
Ellis, E. M., Atkeson, B. M. & Calhoun, K. S. (1981) An assessment of long term reactions to rape. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 263–266.Google Scholar
Feldman-Summers, S., Gordon, P. & Meagher, J. (1977) The impact of rape on sexual satisfaction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 88, 101–105.Google Scholar
Figley, C. (1978) Stress Disorders Among Vietnam Veterans. Theory, Research and Treatment Implications. New York: Bruner-Mazel.Google Scholar
Groth, N., Burgess, A. W. & Holmstrom, L. L. (1977) Rape: power, anger and sexuality. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 1239–1243.Google Scholar
Holmes, K. & Williams, J. (1979) Problems and pitfalls of rape victims research: an analysis of selected methodological, ethical and pragmatic concerns. Victimology, 4, 17–28.Google Scholar
Katz, S. & Mazur, M. (1979) Understanding the Rape Victim: a Synthesis of Research Findings. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Kilpatrick, D., Veronen, L. & Resick, P. (1981) Effects of a rape experience: a longitudinal study. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 105–122.Google Scholar
Krystal, H. Ed. (1968) Massive Psychic Trauma. New York: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Lindemann, E. (1944) Symptomatology and management of acute grief. American Journal of Psychiatry, 101, 141–148.Google Scholar
Maguire, M. (1982) Burglary in a Dwelling. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Miller, J., Moellar, D., Kaufman, A., Divasto, P., Pathak, D. & Christy, J. (1978) Recidivism among sex assault victims. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 1103–1104.Google ScholarPubMed
Nadelson, C., Notman, M., Zackson, H. & Gornick, J. (1982) A follow up study of rape victims. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1266–1270.Google Scholar
Ochberg, F. (1977) The victim of terrorism: psychiatric considerations. Terrorism: an International Journal, 1, 1–22.Google Scholar
Parkes, C. M. (1965) Bereavement and mental illness. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 38, 1–26.Google Scholar
Rado, S. (1948) Pathodynamics and treatment of traumatic war neurosis (traumatophobia). Psychosomatic Medicine, 4, 362–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Resick, P., Calhoun, K., Atkeson, B. & Ellis, E. (1981) Social adjustment in victims of sexual assault. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 5, 705–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapland, J., Wilmore, J. & Duff, P. (1985) Cambridge Studies in Criminology. Victims in the Criminal Justice System. London: Gower Press.Google Scholar
Sutherland, S. & Scherl, S. (1970) Patterns of response among victims of rape. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 503–511.Google Scholar
Symonds, M. (1975) Victims of violence. American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 35, 19–26.Google Scholar
Terr, L. C. (1981) Psychic trauma in children: observations following the Chowchilla school bus kidnapping. American Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 14–19.Google Scholar
Titchener, J. & Kapp, F. (1976) Family and character change at Buffaloe Creek. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 295–299.Google Scholar
Tyhurst, J. S. (1951) Individual reactions to community disaster. American Journal of Psychiatry, 107, 764–769.Google Scholar
Walker, M. & Brodsky, S. (1976) Sexual Assault: the Victim and the Rapist. Lexington, Massachusetts: D. C. Heath.Google Scholar
World Health organization (1978) Mental Disorders: Glossary and Guide to their Classification in Accordance with the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases. World Health Organization, Geneva.Google Scholar
Zeigenhagen, E. A. (1976) The recidivist victim of violent crime. Victimology, 1, 538–550.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.