Mental Health and Negative Sexual Experiences of Bahamian University Students

Elizabeth J. Williams, William J. Fielding, Virginia C. Ballance

Abstract


This study investigates the mental health of victims of sexual abuse, particularly rape, in college student populations. The study identifies the connection between sexual abuse/rape and elevated scores of mental health. It indicates that even with other stressful events occurring in the lives of respondents, sexual abuse/rape has a detrimental effect on the mental health of both males and females. A death in the family was the most commonly reported stressful event for males and females, and females were more likely than males to have suffered from a sexual attack. Early negative experiences of sexual intercourse can apparently have long lasting negative effects on the victim’s mental health. These findings require society to look beyond the physical consequences of sexual abuse and rape to ensure that the long-term mental health of victims, both male and female children and adults, is not overlooked.

Keywords


Sexual consent; Adolescent sexual behaviour; Mental health

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ali, T. S., Mogren, I., & Krantz, G. (2013). Intimate partner violence and mental health effects: A population-based study among married women in Karachi, Pakistan. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 20(1), 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9201-6

Amirkhan, J. H. (1990). A factor analytically derived measure of coping: The Coping Strategy Indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(5), 1066–1074. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/0022-3514.59.5.1066

Aranha, S. B. (2016). Sexual abuse: The secret needing to be told. In Violence in The Bahamas: A Monograph on Research Undertaken by the College of The Bahamas on Violence in The Bahamas (pp. 87–92). College of The Bahamas. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00078778/00008

Bahamas National Task Force for Gender-Based Violence. (2015). Strategic plan to address gender-based violence. Ministry of Social Services and Community Development. https://bit.ly/3lmK5LL

Barton, E. N. (2012). Mental health [Editorial]. The West Indian Medical Journal, 61(5), 473–474. https://www.mona.uwi.edu/fms/wimj/system/files/article_pdfs/en_barton.qxd__0.pdf

Benjamin, L., & LeGrand, C. (2012). Sound and fury: Newspaper coverage of the marital rape debate in New Providence. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 18, 16–35. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v18i0.164

Bergen, R. K., & Barnhill, E. (2006). Marital rape: New research and directions. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. http://www.ncdsv.org/images/VAWnet_MaritalRapeNewResearchDirections_2-2006.pdf

Bethel, N., & Fielding, W. J. (2020). Attitudes and knowledge of Bahamian college students regarding sexual consent. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 26, 73–100. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v26i0.371

Brooks, G. R. (2001). Masculinity and men's mental health. Journal of American College Health, 49(6), 285–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480109596315

Burgić Radmanović, M. (2020). Mental disorders in sexually abused children. Psychiatria Danubina, 32(Suppl 3), 349–352. http://www.psychiatria-danubina.com/UserDocsImages/pdf/dnb_vol32_noSuppl%203/dnb_vol32_noSuppl%203_349.pdf

Burnett-Garraway, C. H. (2001). Domestic violence: A study of the occurrence and predictors in an Accident and Emergency Department, The Bahamas [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados]. https://www.dloc.com/AA00008697/00001

Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359(9314), 1331–1336. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08336-8

Deveaux, L., & Rolle, G. (2016). The focus on youth prevention and education research programme. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 22, 91–98. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v22i0.276

Dovran, A., Winje, D., Øverland, S., Arefjord, K., Hansen, A., & Waage, L. (2016). Childhood maltreatment and adult mental health. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 70(2), 140–145. https://doi.org/10.3109/08039488.2015.1062142

Fujiwara, T., Okuyama, M., & Izumi, M. (2012). The impact of childhood abuse history, domestic violence and mental health symptoms on parenting behaviour among mothers in Japan. Child: Care, Health and Development, 38(4), 530–537. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01272.x

Hailes, H. P., Yu, R., Danese, A., & Fazel, S. (2019). Long-term outcomes of childhood sexual abuse: An umbrella review. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(10), 830–839. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30286-X

Hébert, M., Lavoie, F., Vitaro, F., McDuff, P., & Tremblay, R. E. (2008). Association of child sexual abuse and dating victimization with mental health disorder in a sample of adolescent girls. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21(2), 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20314

Musevenzi, J., & Musevenzi, M. (2018). The lived experiences of male survivors: The case of adult rape clinic at Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare. Journal of Gleanings from Academic Outliers, 7(1), 1–24.

Naylor, C., Parsonage, M., McDaid, D., Knapp, M., Fossey, M., & Galea, A. (2012). Long-term conditions and mental health: The cost of co-morbidities. The King's Fund. https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/field_publication_file/long-term-conditions-mental-health-cost-comorbidities-naylor-feb12.pdf

Nickerson, A., Steenkamp, M., Aerka, I. M., Salters‐Pedneault, K., Carper, T. L., Barnes, J. B., & Litz, B. T. (2013). Prospective investigation of mental health following sexual assault. Depression and Anxiety, 30(5), 444–450. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22023

Pereira, H., & Costa, P. A. (2016). Modeling the impact of social discrimination on the physical and mental health of Portuguese gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 29(2), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2016.1157683

Pilgrim, N. A., & Blum, R. W. (2012). Adolescent mental and physical health in the English-speaking Caribbean. Panamerican Journal of Public Health = Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 32, 62–69. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1020-49892012000700010

Potter, S. J., Fox, N., Smith, D., Draper, N., Moschella, E. A., &

Moynihan, M. M. (2020). Sexual assault prevalence and community college students: Challenges and promising practices. Health Education & Behavior, 47(1S), 7S–16S. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1090198120910988

Rees, D. I., & Sabia, J. J. (2013). Forced intercourse, mental health, and human capital. Southern Economic Journal, 80(2), 324–344. https://doi.org/10.4284/0038-4038-2013.015

Rolle, R. (2020, November 3). UB students sex assaults shock: Campus survey reveals one-in-three are victim of some form of rape: Comments. The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/nov/03/ub-students-sex-assaults-shock-campus-survey-revea/

Royal Bahamas Police Force. (2020). 2019 crime statistics. http://www.royalbahamaspolice.org/statistics/crime_stats2019.pdf

Sharma, S. (2018). Impact of childhood sexual abuse on female sexuality. SIS Journal of Projective Psychology & Mental Health, 25(2), 173–177. http://search.ebscohost.com.cob.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=133726493&site=ehost-live.

Smith, L., Jacob, L., López-Sánchez, G. F., Grabovac, I., Yang, L., Pizzol, D., Sigman, A., McDermott, D., & Koyanagi, A. (2020). A multicountry study of the violence-related risk factors for early sexual debut and risky sexual behavior in adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520927502

Swahnberg, I. K., & Wijma, B. (2003). The NorVold Abuse Questionnaire (NorAQ): Validation of new measures of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and abuse in the health care system among women. The European Journal of Public Health, 13(4), 361–366. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/13.4.361

Szalacha, L. A., Hughes, T. L., McNair, R., & Loxton, D. (2017). Mental health, sexual identity, and interpersonal violence: Findings from the Australian longitudinal women’s health study. BMC Women's Health, 17(1), 94. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-017-0452-5

Tansill, E. C., Edwards, K. M., Kearns, M. C., Gidycz, C. A., & Calhoun, K. S. (2012). The mediating role of trauma‐related symptoms in the relationship between sexual victimization and physical health symptomatology in undergraduate women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25(1), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21666

Thoresen, S., Myhre, M., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Aakvaag, H. F., & Hjemdal, O. K. (2015). Violence against children, later victimisation, and mental health: A cross-sectional study of the general Norwegian population. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6(1), 26259. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v6.26259

The truth about being gay [Letter to the editor]. (2016, February 12). The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2016/feb/12/truth-about-being-gay/

Turnquest, A. (2016, May 14). Video: Investigation urged over ‘homophobic attack.’ The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2016/may/09/investigation-urged-over-homophobic-attack/

Voth Schrag, R. J., & Edmond, T. E. (2018). Intimate partner violence, trauma, and mental health need among female community college students. Journal of American College Health, 66(7), 702–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1456443

World Health Organization. (2017). Mental health atlas 2017. Member state profile. The Bahamas. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles-2017/BHS.pdf?ua=




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v27i0.395

Copyright (c) 2021 William J. Fielding, Virginia C. F. Ballance