When Trauma Echoes: The Role of Prior Assault in PTSD and Growth Over Time After a New Sexual Assault

Time is often assumed to promote recovery after trauma, yet this process may unfold differently across survivors. This exploratory study examined whether childhood sexual abuse (CSA) history moderates the association between time since a sexual assault in adulthood and two outcomes: posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG). The analysis was guided conceptually by the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, which offers a resource-oriented lens for interpreting variation in post-assault adaptation. Participants were 78 adult women (M_age = 28.42, SD = 12.56) who accessed care at one of three Sexual Assault Referral Centers (SARCs) in Israel within a week of the assault and completed a follow-up survey between two weeks and three years later (M ≈ 1.3 years, SD ≈ 0.9 years). Moderation analyses explored whether trajectories of PTSD and PTG varied by CSA history. Findings indicated differing patterns across groups. Among women without CSA, PTSD symptoms tended to decline and PTG to increase as more time passed. Among women with CSA, PTG showed a significant decline, and PTSD symptoms displayed a non-significant upward trend. The results highlight the value of considering survivors’ prior histories when examining post-assault recovery and suggest directions for future research on resource-related processes in acute care settings. Recovery over time is not uniform, and understanding these differences may help inform more tailored, trauma-informed support for diverse survivor populations.