Self-Reported History of Sexual Coercion and Rape Negatively Impacts Resilience to Suicide Among Women Students

This study investigated the effects of a history of sexual victimization on reasons for living. 138 female participants, mean age 24.4 years, completed the Sexual Experiences Survey & the Reasons for Living Inventory. Analyses of variance showed that degree of sexual victimization had a significant effect on the Reasons for Living total score & 2 subscale scores. The mean Reasons for Living scores in the no victimization group were significantly higher than the mean scores in the sexual coercion & rape groups. An implication is that having a history of sexual victimization, especially sexual coercion & rape, limits one’s later reasons for not completing suicide. (19 refs.)