Revictimization and information processing in women survivors of childhood sexual abuse

This study examined the effect of sexual revictimization on information processing of trauma-related stimuli in a sample of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fifty-one treatment-seeking women participated in this study. Participants completed the Sexual Experiences Survey regarding sexual revictimization in the last 6 months and performed a modified emotional Stroop task in which they named the colors of neutral words (e.g., apple), general threat words (e.g., malignant and death), and sexual/victimization words (e.g., penis and abuser). As predicted, the revictimized participants (n=16) took significantly longer to color-name sexual/victimization words than did the nonrevictimized participants. These results suggest that revictimization serves to prime preexisting 'trauma' memory networks, thereby amplifying the impact of childhood sexual trauma on selective attention toward trauma-related stimuli.