Self-Blame and Rape Myth Acceptance: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of the Tonic Immobility and PTSD Relationship
2023-05
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Self-Blame and Rape Myth Acceptance: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of the Tonic Immobility and PTSD Relationship
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2023-05
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Abstract
Tonic immobility is a phenomenon that causes an inability to move or react during a
survival event that is perceived as inescapable. This phenomenon is particularly noted during
sexual assault. Past research has also established a relationship between tonic immobility and
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially in those who have experienced sexual assault.
Various theories explain how the inability to resist the rape caused by tonic immobility might
contribute to development and maintenance of PTSD. One possibility pertains to the rape myth
that survivors are responsible for physically resisting rape. The cognitive model posits that the
inability to resist the rape caused by tonic immobility might contribute to development and
maintenance of PTSD via self-blame cognitions. The aim of this study was to examine the role
that self-blame and rape myths play in the relationship between tonic immobility and PTSD.
Sexual assault survivors completed measures online assessing demographic and assault
characteristics, tonic immobility, self-blame, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and rape myth
acceptance. Using a moderated mediation analysis, this study examined the role of self-blame as
a mediating variable in the development of PTSD after tonic immobility and rape myth
acceptance as a moderator of that mediation. Findings indicated mediation of the tonic
immobility and PTSD relationship by self-blame. The role of resistance-related rape myths as a
moderator was not supported, suggesting that other mechanisms better explain the development
of self-blame after tonic immobility.
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A Plan B Research Project submitted to the faculty of University of Minnesota Duluth by Claire Clifton in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, May 2023. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signature present.
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Clifton, Claire. (2023). Self-Blame and Rape Myth Acceptance: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of the Tonic Immobility and PTSD Relationship. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/254824.
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