Psychosocial interventions for survivors of rape and sexual assault experienced during adulthood

Lorna O'Doherty, Maxine Whelan, Grace Carter, Katherine Brown, Laura Tarzia, Kelsey Hegarty, Gene Feder, Sarah Brown

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: Exposure to rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse has lifelong impacts for mental health and well-being. Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) are among the most common interventions offered to survivors to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological impacts. Beyond such trauma-focused cognitive and behavioural approaches, there is a range of low-intensity interventions along with new and emerging non-exposure based approaches (trauma-sensitive yoga, Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories and Lifespan Integration). This review presents a timely assessment of international evidence on any type of psychosocial intervention offered to individuals who experienced rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse as adults. Objectives: To assess the effects of psychosocial interventions on mental health and well-being for survivors of rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse experienced during adulthood. Search methods: In January 2022, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, 12 other databases and three trials registers. We also checked reference lists of included studies, contacted authors and experts, and ran forward citation searches. Selection criteria: Any study that allocated individuals or clusters of individuals by a random or quasi-random method to a psychosocial intervention that promoted recovery and healing following exposure to rape, sexual assault or sexual abuse in those aged 18 years and above compared with no or minimal intervention, usual care, wait-list, pharmacological only or active comparison(s). We classified psychosocial interventions according to Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group’s psychological therapies list. Data collection and analysis: We used the standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Main results: We included 36 studies (1991 to 2021) with 3992 participants randomly assigned to 60 experimental groups (3014; 76%) and 23 inactive comparator conditions (978, 24%). The experimental groups consisted of: 32 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); 10 behavioural interventions; three integrative therapies; three humanist; five other psychologically oriented interventions; and seven other psychosocial interventions. Delivery involved 1 to 20 (median 11) sessions of traditional face-to-face (41) or other individual formats (four); groups (nine); or involved computer-only interaction (six). Most studies were conducted in the USA (n = 26); two were from South Africa; two from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; with single studies from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. Five studies did not disclose a funding source, and all disclosed sources were public funding. Participants were invited from a range of settings: from the community, through the media, from universities and in places where people might seek help for their mental health (e.g. war veterans), in the aftermath of sexual trauma (sexual assault centres and emergency departments) or for problems that accompany the experience of sexual violence (e.g. sexual health/primary care clinics). Participants randomised were 99% women (3965 participants) with just 27 men. Half were Black, African or African-American (1889 participants); 40% White/Caucasian (1530 participants); and 10% represented a range of other ethnic backgrounds (396 participants). The weighted mean age was 35.9 years (standard deviation (SD) 9.6). Eighty-two per cent had experienced rape or sexual assault in adulthood (3260/3992). Twenty-two studies (61%) required fulfilling a measured PTSD diagnostic threshold for inclusion; however, 94% of participants (2239/2370) were reported as having clinically relevant PTSD symptoms at entry. The comparison of psychosocial interventions with inactive controls detected that there may be a beneficial effect at post-treatment favouring psychosocial interventions in reducing PTSD (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.22 to -0.44; 16 studies, 1130 participants; low-certainty evidence; large effect size based on Cohen’s D); and depression (SMD -0.82, 95% CI -1.17 to -0.48; 12 studies, 901 participants; low-certainty evidence; large effect size). Psychosocial interventions, however, may not increase the risk of dropout from treatment compared to controls, with a risk ratio of 0.85 (95% CI 0.51 to 1.44; 5 studies, 242 participants; low-certainty evidence). Seven of the 23 studies (with 801 participants) comparing a psychosocial intervention to an inactive control reported on adverse events, with 21 events indicated. Psychosocial interventions may not increase the risk of adverse events compared to controls, with a risk ratio of 1.92 (95% CI 0.30 to 12.41; 6 studies; 622 participants; very low-certainty evidence). We conducted an assessment of risk of bias using the RoB 2 tool on a total of 49 reported results. A high risk of bias affected 43% of PTSD results; 59% for depression symptoms; 40% for treatment dropout; and one-third for adverse events. The greatest sources of bias were problems with randomisation and missing outcome data. Heterogeneity was also high, ranging from I 2 = 30% (adverse events) to I 2 = 87% (PTSD). Authors' conclusions: Our review suggests that survivors of rape, sexual violence and sexual abuse during adulthood may experience a large reduction in post-treatment PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms after experiencing a psychosocial intervention, relative to comparison groups. Psychosocial interventions do not seem to increase dropout from treatment or adverse events/effects compared to controls. However, the number of dropouts and study attrition were generally high, potentially missing harms of exposure to interventions and/or research participation. Also, the differential effects of specific intervention types needs further investigation. We conclude that a range of behavioural and CBT-based interventions may improve the mental health of survivors of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse in the short term. Therefore, the needs and preferences of individuals must be considered in selecting suitable approaches to therapy and support. The primary outcome in this review focused on the post-treatment period and the question about whether benefits are sustained over time persists. However, attaining such evidence from studies that lack an active comparison may be impractical and even unethical. Thus, we suggest that studies undertake head-to-head comparisons of different intervention types; in particular, of novel, emerging therapies, with one-year plus follow-up periods. Additionally, researchers should focus on the therapeutic benefits and costs for subpopulations such as male survivors and those living with complex PTSD.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberCD013456
Number of pages251
JournalCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Volume2023
Issue number10
Early online date5 Oct 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Cochrane Collaboration.

Funder

This Cochrane Review is part of a larger study about healthcare for sexual violence and abuse: Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres for better Health (MESARCH). The research is funded by an institutional (Coventry University) research grant (project number 16/117/04) from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR). We would like to thank members of the MESARCH Lived Experiences Group for input into the review and development of the original protocol for this review, in particular Gillian Finch, Rosie Stone and Geraldine for detailed review of the Plain Language Summaries. We wish to thank other colleagues from the MESARCH project for ongoing support towards completing this review, in particular, Priya Tek Kalsi, Dr Emma Sleath, Dr Gemma Halliwell and Dr Eleanor Lutman-White. We acknowledge the courage and contributions to research by the 3992 survivors of sexual violence and abuse who participated in the studies included in this review. We had contact with many study authors in considering studies for inclusion, to obtain unpublished data and acquire information to help inform decisions about the classification of interventions. We were very grateful for the timely and helpful responses from authors. We would also like to thank members of the former Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group for their considerable guidance and support in producing this review. We appreciate the contributions of reviewers in refining the review: Gemma L Clayton, MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; Mbeh Sandrine Diribe, Cameroon; Nuala Livingstone, Cochrane Evidence Production and Methods Directorate, UK; Rachel Voth Schrag, PhD LCSW, University of Texas at Arlington, USA; and Anao Zhang, University of Michigan, USA. We were grateful for the opportunity to participate in a pilot of the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised trials (RoB 2). Finally, thank you to the Copy Editors: Tori Capehart, Copy Editor, J&J Editorial (pre-edit: Appendices); Sarah Hammond, Senior Copy Editor, J&J Editorial (pre-edit: Characteristics of included studies, ongoing studies, and studies awaiting classification tables; References); Mary Anna Rice, Senior Copy Editor, J&J Editorial (pre-edit: Characteristics of excluded studies tables); Margaret Silvers, Copy Editor, J&J Editorial (pre-edit: Additional tables); Jenny Bellorini, Copy Editor, Cochrane Central Production Service (copy edit). Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the review authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Cochrane Collaboration

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Behavior Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods
  • Psychosocial Intervention
  • Psychotherapy/methods
  • Rape

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