Kate Walsh

Research areas
Clinical
Gender & Women’s Studies
Institute for Diversity Science

I will NOT be accepting doctoral students for Fall 2025.

Lab website: https://pivotlab.psych.wisc.edu

Research interests
Dr. Walsh’s interdisciplinary program of research focuses on the intersections of trauma exposure, mental health conditions, and substance misuse with a particular focus on risk factors for and outcomes of sexual violence.

One line of research addresses risk factors for sexual violence perpetration and victimization in multiple contexts, including in college and the military. This work seeks to understand risk factors at multiple ecological levels (individual, interpersonal, and broader environmental/societal) with the goal of developing multi-level prevention programs that are tailored to specific environments. Some work also uses daily diary methods to better understand proximal risk factors for drinking and sexual behavior.

A second line of research focuses on secondary prevention and treatment of negative sequelae associated with sexual violence victimization including posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. Dr. Walsh has a current NIDA-funded study to test the effectiveness of a video and text message intervention for preventing the onset or escalation of PTSD and opioid misuse among recent sexual assault survivors. She is also researching ways to expand access to evidence-based interventions and other support for underserved survivors of sexual assault.

Representative Publications
Walsh, K. (2025). A mixed-methods study examining survivor support services and institutional betrayal after sexual assault: Findings from a population-representative sample of college students. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.

Walsh, K., Klein, L.B., Luebke, J., Moore, K.M., Ruiz, A.M., Curran, K., & Melnik, J. (2025). Sexual assault nurse examiner’s confidence to care for Black, Indigenous, and trans survivors using newly developed and validated practice vignettes. Journal of Emergency Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2024.12.005

Walsh, K., Lowe, S.R., and Ward, S. (2024). Sexual victimization, emotion dysregulation, and sexual consent feelings and communication during a recent sexual encounter. Journal of Sex Research, 1-9.

Walsh, K., Gilmore, A. K., Jaffe, A. E., Frazier, P., Ledray, L., Acierno, R., … & Resnick, H. S. (2023). A preliminary examination of sexual and physical victimization 6 months after recent rape. Archives of Women’s mental Health, 1-7.

Walsh, K., Gilmore, A.K., Frazier, P., Ledray, L., Acierno, R., Ruggiero, K.J., Kilpatrick, D.G., & Resnick, H.S. (2017). A randomized clinical trial examining the effect of video-based prevention of alcohol and marijuana use among recent sexual assault victims. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41, 2163-2172.

Walsh, K., Zinzow, H., Badour, C., Ruggiero, K.J., Kilpatrick, D., & Resnick, H.S. (2016). Understanding disparities in service seeking following forcible versus drug or alcohol facilitated/incapacitated rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 2475-2491.

Walsh, K., Galea, S., Cerda, M., Richards, C., Liberzon, I., Tamburrino, M., Calabrese, J., & Koenen, K. (2014). Unit support protects against sexual harassment and assault among National Guard soldiers. Women’s Health Issues, 24, 600-604.

Walsh, K., Nugent, N.R., Kotte, A., Amstadter, A.B., Wang, S., Guille, C., Acierno, R., Kilpatrick, D.G., & Resnick, H.S. (2013). Cortisol at the emergency room rape visit as a predictor of PTSD and depression symptoms over time. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38, 2520-8.

Walsh, K., Danielson, C.K., McCauley, J., Saunders, B.E., Kilpatrick, D.G., & Resnick, H.S. (2012). National prevalence of PTSD among sexually revictimized adolescent, college, and adult women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 69, 935-942.