Identifying as a Survivor Versus a Victim After Sexual Violence Predicts Divergent Posttrauma Pathways

Abstract

The present study investigated social identification with “survivors” versus “victims” following sexual violence and the degree to which this predicted posttraumatic growth versus posttraumatic stress. Participants (N = 290) were adult women who had experienced sexual violence. As predicted, cumulative sexual trauma was positively associated with symptoms of both posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. Further, people who had experienced more cumulative sexual trauma were more likely to identify with victims, which in turn predicted posttraumatic stress. Similarly, people who had experienced more cumulative sexual trauma were also more likely to identify with survivors, and this in turn predicted posttraumatic growth.