One in four women has suffered intimate partner violence (IPV) while one in five experiences severe physical violence (CDC, 2020). Intimate partner violence is violence perpetrated by a current intimate partner which can lead to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), which is a physical hit to the head. One critical aspect that is often overlooked in the healthcare setting is the effects of IPV-related mTBI on the health and daily participation of survivors. This narrative review examines the cognitive effects of mTBI in survivors of IPV. This review also discusses how impaired cognition can impact participation such as engagement in daily functioning in survivors of IPV-related mTBI. Data regarding IPV, mTBI, and participation were extracted. Ten scholarly articles state that IPV-related mTBI causes cognitive impairment in survivors. IPV-related mTBI can damage parts of the brain, but a scholarly article on sports-related injuries reveals that sports-related mTBI is linked to weakened daily participation in athletes. For survivors of IPV, there is no research published on how IPV-related mTBI affects daily participation. Therefore, more research is needed to learn more about the effect of mTBI on survivors and remediate the effects of mTBI on survivors of IPV.

Sexual minority women (SMW), in particular bisexual women, are at greater risk of experiencing sexual assault and other types of traumas and stress as well as heightened symptom severity than heterosexual women. Among SMW, bisexual women in comparison to lesbian women have shown differences in symptom severity following sexual assault. To our knowledge, only three studies have looked at differences in mental health in bisexual and lesbian women who have been sexually assaulted, but their results have been contradictory. As such, the purpose of this study is to look into the symptom differences between bisexual and lesbian women following sexual assault to better understand their differences. To do this, I conducted a secondary analysis of an existing data set. I used a bivariate statistics test to compare lesbian and bisexual women in regard to their mental health following sexual assault with a focus on depression and PTSD symptoms. This presentation reports on the results of the hypothesis test that bisexual women will have more severe symptoms of PTSD, depression, or anxiety. A better understanding of the differences between the two groups would allow better tailoring of treatment following sexual assault for SMW. This study will also help to further emphasize the need to look at sexual minority identities as singular unique identities with their own nuances within psychological studies.

Sexual grooming is the deceptive process by which an offender selects a vulnerable victim and prepares them for sexual abuse to avoid detection. It is estimated that almost half of all cases of child sexual abuse involve sexual grooming. Recently a content validated model of sexual grooming, the Sexual Grooming Model (SGM), has been developed in which 42 of grooming behaviors have been identified. However, it is believed that these behaviors may differ by the age of the victim. The present study explores the changing behaviors of the offenders depending upon the age of the child victim. CUNY undergraduate students were asked to complete a self-report survey based on the SGM. The grooming behaviors of those who endorse a history of child sexual abuse across three developmental age groups are examined. Expected findings are anticipated to show that offenders did use different techniques and behaviors to groom their chosen victim and some grooming behaviors are expected to be more prevalent within a specific age group.  

Sexual assault is a serious problem in the United States and it is estimated that one in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience abuse by the time they are 18. However, the majority of cases of sexual abuse do not result in conviction. This may be because perceptions of sexual abuse cases vary according to the different characteristics of the perpetrator and victim involved. For this reason, this project will examine whether perceptions of severity of crime differ upon the gender of the victim and perpetrator in sexual abuse cases. A general sample of U.S. adults obtained via mTurk will be randomly assigned to read one of four case vignettes in which the gender of the victim and perpetrator will be varied, and they will be asked to complete a series of questions about the case. They will be asked the degree to which they attribute responsibility/blame to the people involved, if any, and if the case displays a sexual abuse act. It is anticipated that cases in which there is a female perpetrator and male victim, the perpetrator will be seen as less responsible/blameworthy for the situation whereas the male victim will be attributed more responsibility/blame. These findings will be discussed as they pertain to the role of both the gender of the perpetrator and victim and see the impact on how people view the degree of severity of sexual abuse cases.