A psychologist at the University of Houston is offering new guidance aimed at improving the mental health of individuals who have experienced sexual violence, which has been recognized as a significant public health issue by major health organizations. The research, led by Michael Zvolensky, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor of psychology, focused on understanding how sexual assault can increase the risk for long-term problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). The findings were published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
According to Zvolensky's team, those exposed to sexual assault are more likely to experience severe PTSD and AUD compared to people who have faced other traumatic events like combat exposure. The study examined two types of anxiety: anxiety sensitivity—the fear of anxiety itself—and pain-related anxiety, which centers on fear associated with specific pain or painful situations.
The investigation involved 133 individuals with a history of traumatic sexual assault who also engaged in hazardous drinking. The researchers explored how these forms of anxiety are linked to mental health outcomes and significant alcohol use among this group.
"While anxiety sensitivity is generally associated with severe mental health problems, pain-related anxiety is related to alcohol use processes," said Zvolensky. He added that "Anxiety sensitivity may also be especially relevant among people exposed to traumatic sexual assault, as this experience is related to aversive bodily sensations and associated with more risk for coping-oriented drinking and alcohol use problems among trauma-exposed samples."
The connection between these two types of anxiety and hazardous drinking among survivors of traumatic sexual violence had not previously been studied. Neha Pathak, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in Zvolensky's lab, explained: "The present investigation sought to test the roles of anxiety sensitivity and pain-related anxiety in the context of one another as both factors have been shown to serve as affect-amplifying constructs."
Researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Nevada collaborated with the UH team on this project.
