Preliminary support for this intervention

Preliminary support has been found for this intervention at the time of the medical exam in a study involving 205 adolescent and adult women who were victims of sexual assault (Resnick et al., 2005). Ninety-seven adolescent girls and women watched the video before the rape exam and 108 received care as usual.

Findings at the time of the medical exam showed that, when compared to those in the non-video group, adolescents and women in the video group:

• Had a larger reduction in pre-to post-exam ratings of their subjective distress.
  
  
• Reported less anxiety after the medical exam.

Follow-up data with adolescent girls and women at approximately 6 weeks post-sexual assault indicated that:

• Adolescent girls and women with a prior history of rape who were in the video group scored lower on PTSD symptoms than those with prior rape history who were in the non-video group (Resnick et al., 2005).
  
  
• Regardless of prior rape history, adolescent girls and women in the video intervention group had less marijuana abuse than those in the non-video group (Acierno et al., 2003).

Future Directions:

• Research on the impact of the video is currently ongoing.
  
  
• Further research is needed to replicate the initial study findings in order to identify whether the video is helpful to sexual assault victims seeking medical care.