Self-Blame Attributions and Unique Vulnerability as Predictors of Post-Rape Demoralization

Self-blaming by rape survivors was studied in order to test Janoff-Bulman's theory that characterological and behavioral self-blame have differential effects on psychological adjustment because they imply different perceptions of control over future aversive events. Rape survivors' ratings of their ability to change several sources of self-blame attributions failed to predict postrape demoralization. Frequency of characterological self-blaming and unique vulnerability were significant predictors of adjustment to rape. These results suggest that feelings of control over sources of self-blame attributions do not adequately explain the impact of characterological self-blame and unique vulnerability on postrape adjustment.