Date of Award

2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Doane, Lisa

Subject Headings

Post-traumatic stress disorder, Cervix uteri -- Cancer, Medical screening, Control (Psychology), Sexual harassment, Papillomaviruses, PTSD cervical cancer locus of control sexual trauma pap smears cervical cancer screening post traumatic stress disorder

Abstract

The most common cause of cervical cancer in women is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) (Cokkinides, Bandi, Siegel, Warn, & Thun, 2007). Survivors of sexual assault are at a high risk for contracting HPV and other sexually transmitted infections (Lee, Westrup, Ruzek, Keller, & Weitlauf, 2007), therefore placing them at higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Unfortunately, these women are less likely than non-survivors to have cervical cancer screenings (Bazargan, Bazargan, Farooq, & Baker, 2004). Previous research has suggested that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and locus of control (LOC) may have some influence on screening participation in sexual assault survivors. This study investigates the relationship between sexual trauma, PTSD, LOC, and cervical cancer screenings. More specifically, we aim to examine if PTSD and LOC have mediation effects on the relationship between sexual trauma and cervical cancer screenings

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