Exploring the Relationships of Women's Sexual Assault Disclosure, Social Reactions, and Problem Drinking

The goal of this exploratory study was to examine correlates of sexual assault disclosure and social reactions in female victims with and without drinking problems. An ethnically diverse sample of sexual assault survivors was recruited from college, community, and mental health agencies. Ethnic minority women were less likely to disclose assault, and women with a greater number of traumatic life events disclosed assault more often. Although there were no differences in disclosure likelihood by drinking status; of those disclosing, problem drinkers told more support sources and received more negative and positive social reactions than nonproblem drinkers. Correlates of receiving negative social reactions were similar for normal and problem drinkers; however, negative social reactions to assault disclosure were related to more problem drinking for women with less frequent social interaction. Implications for future research and possible support interventions with problem-drinking victims are provided.