FEAR OF INTIMACY AND ATTACHMENT AMONG RAPE SURVIVORS

The purpose of the present study was to investigate attachment and fea r of intimacy among rape survivors. As previous research has documente d that several domains of functioning are affected by the experience o f rape, it was hypothesized that the survivors may have difficulties w ith attachment and intimacy. Subjects were selected from an undergradu ate general psychology class on the basis of responses to a questionna ire on sexual experiences. All of the subjects were female and include d 44 rape survivors and 57 controls, As predicted, rape survivors repo rted greater fear surrounding intimacy. Survivors also differed from t he controls on all of the attachment dimensions. They reported less co nfidence in others' dependability, less comfort with closeness, and mo re fear of abandonment. Trait anxiety was also controlled in the analy ses, and except for fear of abandonment, it attenuated the differences between the groups such that they were no longer significantly differ ent.