The relations among sexual violence myth, DARVO, posttraumatic cognition, and PTSD symptoms

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the relations among sexual violence myth, DARVO(Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender), posttraumatic cognition, and PTSD symptoms. DARVO refers to a reaction perpetrators of wrong doing, particularly sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior(Freyd, 2018). This can also be seen as a measure of how much our society is more tolerant of perpetrators than victims. In this study, we wanted to examine how misconceptions spread throughout society further exacerbate the trauma of victims and became a big risk factor. We reconstructed a new measure to study the myth. Through previous research, the myths that the victims of sexual violence have experienced were added to the revision. 56 female adults aged over 18 years completed self-report questionnaires. The final data(N=35) was analyzed using multiple regression. The results indicated that 3 variables significantly explained unique proportions of the variance in posttraumatic symptoms. To conclude, The myth was found to have a strong bearing on the trauma of each victim, and was found to be at almost the same level as in the 1990s or now. It showed the need to educate overall society for trauma care.