An ecological approach to understanding the impact of sexual violence: a systematic meta-review

Dagmar Stockman; Laura Haney; Kasia Uzieblo; Heather Littleton; Ines Keygnaert; Gilbert Lemmens; Lesley Verhofstadt

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1032408

An ecological approach to understanding the impact of sexual violence: a systematic meta-review

Front Psychol. 2023 May 24:14:1032408. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1032408. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dagmar Stockman¹, Laura Haney², Kasia Uzieblo^{3

4}, Heather Littleton⁵, Ines Keygnaert⁶, Gilbert Lemmens⁷, Lesley Verhofstadt¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Department of Psychology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, United States.
³ Department of Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium.
⁴ Forensic Care Specialists, Van der Hoeven Clinic, Utrecht, Netherlands.
⁵ Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, United States.
⁶ International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁷ Department of Head and Skin, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Abstract

Aim: A systematic meta-review was conducted to examine (1) the broad range of negative and positive individual and interpersonal changes following adult sexual violence, as well as (2) the risk/protective factors at multiple levels of the social ecology (e.g., individual, assault, and micro/meso/exo/macro/chronosystem factors)-influencing the impact of sexual violence.

Methods: Searches of Web of Science, Pubmed, and ProQuest resulted in inclusion of 46 systematic reviews or meta-analyses. Review findings were extracted for summary and a deductive thematic analysis was conducted.

Results: Experiencing sexual violence is associated with many negative individual and sexual difficulties as well as revictimization risk. Only a limited number of reviews reported on interpersonal and positive changes. Factors at multiple levels of the social ecology play a role in the intensity of these changes. Reviews including macrolevel factors were non-existent, however.

Conclusion: Reviews on sexual violence are fragmented in nature. Although the use of an ecological approach is often lacking, adopting such a perspective in research is necessary for a fuller understanding of the multiple influences on survivor outcomes. Future research should evaluate the occurrence of social and positive changes following sexual violence, as well as the role of macrolevel factors in influencing post-assault outcomes.

Keywords: context; meta-review; psychotrauma; sexual violence; sexual violence impact; social ecology.

Publication types

Systematic Review