Literature Review Blog #2

(1) Visual. A picture of the book or (only if such a picture is not available or if it is an article) a relevant picture, such as a photo of the author or something related to the subject. An embedded video (such as of an author interview) can also fulfill this requirement.

Image result for sexual assault in a college setting


(2) Citation. Provide full citation in MLA format.

Campbell, Rebecca, et al. “An Ecological Model of the Impact of Sexual Assault On Women's Mental Health.” An Ecological Model of the Impact of Sexual Assault On Women's Mental HealthTrauma, Violence, &Amp; Abuse - Rebecca Campbell, Emily Dworkin, Giannina Cabral, 2009, SAGE Publications, 10 May 2009, journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1524838009334456.



(3) Summary. Provide a brief summary as to what the reading is about.

This reading gives statistics about the effect of a sexual assault on a victim, but it mainly describes an ecological approach on sexual assault effects. This theory describes an ecological model of rape recovery and this model has been used in empirical research to evaluate how the legal, medical, and mental health systems respond to victims’ needs and how those system experiences affect victims’ psychological, physical, and sexual health outcomes. It speaks on different microsystems affected - these microsystems focus on direct interpersonal interactions between individuals and members of their immediate environment such as families, friends, and peers - so essentially how these areas in their life are affected. The mesosystem speaks about interconnections and linkages between individuals and systems. The exosystem includes organizations and social systems that could be affected post a traumatic experience like a sexual assault. The gist of this model is that sexual assault survivors’ mental health is shaped by many factors, including the assault itself or preexisting individual characteristics, but not limited to these. With each interaction in the social world, victims are given explicit and implicit messages about how they are to make sense of the incident, which is where the effects come in.

(4) Author(s). Give some information on the author(s). What makes him/her knowledgeable on the topic? 

Rebecca Campbell is the main contributor to this article and she is credible as she is a psychology professor at Michigan State University. 
She holds a Ph.D. in community psychology as well. She has been conducting community-based research on violence against women and children, with an emphasis on sexual assault for the past 25 years. Emily Dworkin has a strong background as a research assistant as well as has a strong background in rape advocacy and counseling services, beginning 6 years ago and still currently. Giannina Cabral received her doctorate degree from Michigan State University and now works in a research-consulting firm. She's worked in various sexual assault action research projects.

(5) Key terms. Define at least two key terms or key concepts used in the piece.

Ecological approach -  the environment is a collection of natural factors (physical, chemical, and biological) capable of affecting living organisms


PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) - a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event - either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

(6) Quotes. Give three quotations pertaining to your topic, with page reference. 

"Between 17% and 65% of women with a lifetime history of sexual assault develop post traumatic stress disorder. Many (13%-51%) meet diagnostic criteria for depression and 12% to 40% experience generalized anxiety."  (225-226)

Trauma was defined "as the general effect of the assault on victims’ lives, and under that definition, they found that White women were more traumatized than racial/ethnic minority survivors. With respect to victims’ age, several." (230)

"The empirical research on sexual assault survivors’ coping distinguishes between maladaptive or adaptive recovery strategies. Maladaptive approaches involve some level of avoidance, such as staying at home, withdrawal, disengagement, and substance abuse, which are associated with longer recovery time and higher levels of depression, anxiety, fear, and PTSD." (232)


(7) Value. Explicitly explain how this material helps you to explore your research question.

This material helps me explore my research question by giving me a theoretical approach and perspective on the aftermath of a victim's well being and mental/emotional/physical state. It first goes into detail about statistics of the aftermath of a sexual assault, and then it goes into the theoretical approach by giving the ecological factors of PTSD on a victim. It explains how the effects aren't strictly grounded to the incident itself, but it's a result of a victim's surrounding as well, which makes it relevant to my topic because a lot is going on in a college setting, which will heighten a victim's effects. 

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