Jessica Melillo

Date Approved

8-22-2014

Embargo Period

3-3-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Department

Psychology

College

College of Science & Mathematics

Advisor

Angelone, DJ

Subject(s)

Rape; Substance abuse

Disciplines

Psychiatric and Mental Health

Abstract

Women with nonconsensual sexual experience (NSE) history are at elevated risk of experiencing revictimization and engaging in post-NSE substance use. Though the risk of college women experiencing NSEs has been well-established, high school women have been mostly overlooked in the literature, especially in relation to revictimization pathways. Substance use post-high school NSE, post-college NSE, and post-revictimization were examined, with revictimization being defined as an NSE in high school and an NSE in college. Female college students (N = 195) completed measures that assessed degree of sexual victimization, quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption and illicit drug use, and substance-related consequences. It was hypothesized that revictimized women would report more alcohol use, illicit drug use, and related consequences than women without NSE history and those with single-NSE history. The employed MANCOVA model was significant; however, results only partially supported the hypotheses. Revictimized women endorsed more alcohol use, drug use, and related consequences than women in the control and high school NSE only groups. They were not significantly different across any of the dependent variables from women in the college NSE only group. Accessibility and availability of substances and beliefs of social acceptability may account for the limited differences. Temporality and/or treatment intervention may have also played a role. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for prevention and treatment intervention were discussed.

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