Sexual assault and the matrix of harm: Sexual assault survivors narrate their whole lives in more negative ways.

This paper uses data from the American Voices Project, an interview study based on a random population sample, to explore the relationship between assault experiences and how people narrate their lives. Using quantitative sentiment analysis, we find that survivors of assault express significantly greater negative sentiment when asked to tell their life stories. These negative sentiments are observable throughout the entire interview, including before questions of assault are asked.