Impact of Adulthood and Adolescent Rape Experiences on Subsequent Sexual Fantasies

This study represents the first investigation of adolescent and adulthood rape experiences on the sexual fantasies of female college student victims. Although students who reported being adulthood rape victims ( N = 44; not victimized in childhood) reported being more depressed than nonvictims who had experienced intercourse ( N = 83) and than nonvictims with no intercourse history ( N = 40), victims' sexual fantasies were generally indistinguishable from nonvictims in terms of multiple indices of fantasy [1]. Even when data analyses were restricted to only those subjects who perceived themselves as victims, significant differences did not emerge, although a number of suggestive trends were discerned. Across all subjects, fantasies were more elaborate in response to the first of two reported fantasies. Victims were generally indistinguishable from nonvictims in terms of demographic characteristics, previous sexual experiences, sex drive, sexual satisfaction, and sex guilt. In summary, the effects of sexual victimization in this sample were neither pervasive nor enduring.