(016) Anxiety, Depression, and The Decision to Disclose: How Psychopathology Relates to Disclosure After Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences

Introduction Nonconsensual sexual experiences (NSEs) can cause lasting psychological distress, including elevated anxiety and depression (Dworkin et al., 2019). Whether survivors disclose their experiences is a critical factor in recovery, as disclosure often opens opportunities for social support and improved outcomes (Ullman & Peter-Hagene, 2014). Anxiety, characterized by rumination and reassurance seeking, may encourage disclosure as a way to alleviate distress (Rector et al., 2011). In contrast, depressive symptoms often involve withdrawal and hopelessness that can discourage help-seeking (Clement et al., 2015). Objective Despite theoretical links, few studies have directly examined how anxiety and depression relate to the likelihood of NSE disclosure. We hypothesized that higher generalized anxiety would predict a greater likelihood of disclosing an NSE, whereas higher depression would predict a lower likelihood of disclosure. Methods Ninety-eight participants (76 women, 19 men, 3 non-binary; ages 18–26, M = 19.34, SD = 1.3), who reported a past NSE completed measures of generalized anxiety (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., 2006), depression (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2006), and NSE characteristics and disclosure (NSEI; Kilimnik et al., 2018). NSEs included penetrative sex, oral sex, or genital fondling, occurring in adulthood, adolescence, or childhood. Preliminary logistic regressions indicated that neither type of NSE (p > .64) nor age of assault (p > .87) significantly influenced likelihood of disclosure; these variables were therefore excluded from subsequent analyses. Logistic regressions were then conducted to examine whether anxiety and depression predicted the likelihood of disclosing an NSE. Results Anxiety significantly predicted the odds of disclosure: for every one-point increase in anxiety score, the odds of disclosing an NSE increased by approximately 10% (OR = 1.10, 95% CI [1.01, 1.21]). Participants who disclosed had significantly higher anxiety scores (M = 11.79, SD = 5.15, n = 47) than those who did not disclose (M = 9.25, SD = 5.22, n = 51). Depression was not significantly associated with disclosure (p = .58). Conclusions Prior research shows that receiving positive social support following an NSE improves recovery outcomes (Ullman & Peter-Hagene, 2014), yet not all survivors seek such support. The present findings suggest that anxiety may motivate disclosure, whereas depressive symptoms are not significantly related to it. Anxiety may function as a protective-heightening vigilance and prompting reassurance seeking-making disclosure a form of safety regulation. In contrast, depression often involves emotional disengagement and diminished motivation, which may inhibit disclosure for some individuals. For others, however, feelings of guilt, shame, or emotional fatigue might prompt disclosure as a means of relief. These results underscore the need for future research examining how anxiety and depression differentially influence disclosure decisions following nonconsensual sexual experiences. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: Stripes Beauty.