Exercise among women survivors of sexual violence: behaviors, perceptions, and preferences

Physical activity is associated with improved physical and mental health among populations that have experienced trauma. However, research in this area has been focused primarily on male-dominated populations, leaving limited work focused on women trauma survivors. Women are most frequently exposed to sexual violence (SV) related traumas. A robust understanding of current exercise behavior, preferences, and perceptions are needed to understand how trauma-related symptoms impact exercise behavior and to construct survivor-centered and trauma-informed exercise interventions for this population. This project was a cross-sectional survey which gathered information about exercise behaviors, preferences, and perceptions among women survivors of SV. Specific aims of this project were to: 1) examine the relationships between trauma-related symptoms on exercise behavior among women survivors of SV; 2) clarify the perceived benefits / barriers of exercise among women survivors of SV; and 3) explore exercise preferences among women survivors of SV. A sample of women (N = 355) survivors of SV were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and responded to the online survey which asked about the specific aims of this project. Categorical data analysis techniques such as hierarchical logistic regressions, Chi-Square tests of independence, and Fisher’s exact tests were used to analyze the data. Results indicated: 1) there may be factors outside of trauma-related symptoms which impact exercise behaviors among this population; 2) perceptions of exercise barriers and facilitators may change based on activity or PTSD status; and 3) preferences for exercise interventions for this population may change by PTSD and activity status. These findings can be used to help create survivor-centered and trauma-informed exercise interventions for this population.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Community Health

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Pebole, Michelle Marie

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gobin, Robyn L
• Singleton, Chelsea R
• Hall, Katherine S
• Petruzzello, Steven J
• Alston, Reginald J

• trauma
• health behavior
• implementation
• mental health
• exercise

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Michelle Pebole

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115669

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F115669