Sexual risk-taking, while common in college culture, can increase the risk of sexual victimization. Nearly 20% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Krebs et al., 2009). Moreover, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with sexual risk-taking (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Self-esteem and social support are known to be related to PTSD and sexual risk-taking (Gullette & Lyons, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 2013). This study aims to examine sexual victimization history, self-esteem, and social support as relative predictors of PTSD and sexual risk-taking using a sample of 229 female undergraduates. Results suggest that enhancing self-esteem, as opposed to bolstering social support, may have a greater relative impact on PTSD symptoms even after accounting for the impact of sexual victimization history. Moreover, the reduction of PTSD symptoms may have the potential to minimize sexual risk-taking behavior; however, future research is needed to determine temporal relations between these variables.
","abstract_html":"<p>Sexual risk-taking, while common in college culture, can increase the risk of sexual victimization. Nearly 20% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Krebs et al., 2009). Moreover, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with sexual risk-taking (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Self-esteem and social support are known to be related to PTSD and sexual risk-taking (Gullette & Lyons, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 2013). This study aims to examine sexual victimization history, self-esteem, and social support as relative predictors of PTSD and sexual risk-taking using a sample of 229 female undergraduates. Results suggest that enhancing self-esteem, as opposed to bolstering social support, may have a greater relative impact on PTSD symptoms even after accounting for the impact of sexual victimization history. Moreover, the reduction of PTSD symptoms may have the potential to minimize sexual risk-taking behavior; however, future research is needed to determine temporal relations between these variables.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kennedy, Seigie L"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christina Balderrama-Durbin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:10:09Z","subjects":["Psychology","Posttraumatic stress","Self-esteem","Sexual assault","Sexual risk-taking","Social support"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/34","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christina Balderrama-Durbin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kennedy, Seigie L"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Psychology","Posttraumatic stress","Self-esteem","Sexual assault","Sexual risk-taking","Social support"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/34"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Sexual risk-taking, while common in college culture, can increase the risk of sexual victimization. Nearly 20% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Krebs et al., 2009). Moreover, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with sexual risk-taking (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Self-esteem and social support are known to be related to PTSD and sexual risk-taking (Gullette & Lyons, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 2013). This study aims to examine sexual victimization history, self-esteem, and social support as relative predictors of PTSD and sexual risk-taking using a sample of 229 female undergraduates. Results suggest that enhancing self-esteem, as opposed to bolstering social support, may have a greater relative impact on PTSD symptoms even after accounting for the impact of sexual victimization history. Moreover, the reduction of PTSD symptoms may have the potential to minimize sexual risk-taking behavior; however, future research is needed to determine temporal relations between these variables.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Intra- and inter-personal predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder and sexual risk-taking behaviors"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christina Balderrama-Durbin"],"dc:creator":["Kennedy, Seigie L"],"dc:description.abstract":["Sexual risk-taking, while common in college culture, can increase the risk of sexual victimization. Nearly 20% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Krebs et al., 2009). Moreover, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been associated with sexual risk-taking (Johnson & Johnson, 2013). Self-esteem and social support are known to be related to PTSD and sexual risk-taking (Gullette & Lyons, 2006; Johnson & Johnson, 2013). This study aims to examine sexual victimization history, self-esteem, and social support as relative predictors of PTSD and sexual risk-taking using a sample of 229 female undergraduates. Results suggest that enhancing self-esteem, as opposed to bolstering social support, may have a greater relative impact on PTSD symptoms even after accounting for the impact of sexual victimization history. Moreover, the reduction of PTSD symptoms may have the potential to minimize sexual risk-taking behavior; however, future research is needed to determine temporal relations between these variables.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/34"],"dc:subject":["Psychology","Posttraumatic stress","Self-esteem","Sexual assault","Sexual risk-taking","Social support"],"dc:title":["Intra- and inter-personal predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder and sexual risk-taking behaviors"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:10:09Z"}