Medical Mistrust Mediates the Relationship between Sexual Victimization and Physical Health Complaints

Objective. Women with a history of sexual victimization report poorer health outcomes across multiple domains, but additional research is needed to identify mechanisms by which sexual victimization affects health. Level of mistrust experienced by survivors towards the healthcare system could be one such factor. Medical mistrust could result in delayed access of healthcare or non-adherence to medical recommendations, which may exacerbate symptom development.
Design and Main Outcome Measures. This study used an online, international sample of women, who were recruited from April 2018 to August 2018, to investigate whether medical mistrust may mediate the relationship between experiencing sexual victimization and higher physical health complaints.
Results. Multivariate analyses indicated that sexual victimization was significantly associated with both physical health complaints and medical mistrust; further, medical mistrust emerged as a significant mediator of the relationship between sexual victimization and physical health complaints.