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Social attitudes toward traumatized men and women: A vignette study
Author(s) -
Mendelsohn Michaela,
Sewell Kenneth W.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1023/b:jots.0000022616.03662.2f
Subject(s) - vignette , psychoeducation , psychology , clinical psychology , gender role , psychiatry , developmental psychology , social psychology , intervention (counseling)
This study investigated social beliefs about gender‐appropriate reactions to trauma. Ninety‐three men and 179 women completed vignette measures of attitudes toward victims, the Bern Sex Role Inventory, and the Trauma History Questionnaire. Participants evaluated male victims less favorably than female victims. Women responded more positively toward all victims than men. Participants regarded female crime victims more positively than their male counterparts, but did not distinguish between male and female natural disaster victims. Feminine‐sex‐typed women rated victims more favorably than masculine‐sex‐typed individuals. There was a positive relation between personal trauma exposure and attitudes toward male victims among male participants. These findings contribute to an understanding of factors influencing the social reactions experienced by traumatized men and women, and have implications for clinical practice and psychoeducation.