Rethinking Sexual Trauma Research: University Students Reactions to Participating in a Sexual Trauma Survey.

ABSTRACT: The consistently high prevalence of unwanted sexual experiences (USEs) on university campuses has led to increasing calls for evidence-based solutions to inform policies, training, and intervention development. However, Research Ethics Committees are often hesitant to approve sexual trauma research due to beliefs that asking participants about traumatic experiences will cause extreme distress. Conversely, previous literature has found that many participants who have experienced sexual trauma report positive reactions following their participation in such research. Studies have found that while immediate negative emotional reactions are common, this distress is short-term (e.g., lasting only minutes or hours after participation). The present study assessed 469 Northern Irish university stud

SUBMITTER: Reynolds M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12858655 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature