A model for predicting depression in victims of rape

This article proposes a model for understanding the factors contributing to longstanding depression in women who have been raped. A path analysis of d ata obtained from 71 women who had been raped revealed that women with gene ralized beliefs that they could not control events in their lives were more likely to attribute responsibility for their rape to permanent intrapsychi c factors and were more likely to be depressed. Women who perceived that th ey had higher levels of internal control tended to have higher levels of ed ucation, were more likely to be employed, and were less likely to be depres sed more than one year after having been raped. Childhood sexual abuse was not associated with internal control or attributions of causality or depres sion in this analysis. implications for the determination of prognosis and treatment recommendations in civil litigation assessments are discussed.