Self-Blame as a Mediator of Postrape Depressive Symptoms

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether self-blame mediates the relations between various predictor variables and postrape trauma. To answer this question archival data collected from a sample of 25 rape victims seen at a hospital-based rape crisis program were analyzed. Results suggested, first, that self-blame was significantly related to postrape depressive symptoms. Second, both prior mental health problems and prior victimization were also associated with increased postrape depression. Correlations between these predictor variables and self-blame suggested that only prior incest was associated with self-blame as well as depression. Regression analyses testing whether self-blame mediated the relation between incest and postrape depression were consistent with the interpretation that incest victims tend to engage in more self-blame and, as a result, are more depressed. The implications of these findings for both research and practice are discussed.