Jade Buchanan, a Suffolk class of 2026 sociology major, won third place for the 2025 Sloane Prize for Undergraduate Research Nov. 8 at the National Collegiate Honors Council in San Diego, California.
Buchanan’s research was titled “Sexual Assault Disclosure: Understanding How the Reception of Disclosure Effects Survivors’ Mental Health.” She explained the goals of her research, which was conducted as an in-depth analysis of literature on sexual assault within the past decade.
“I was really interested in understanding some of the struggles that survivors of sexual assault go through when it came to disclosing and understanding,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan worked closely with Sukanya Ray from Suffolk’s psychology department. This research project was a part of her McNair Scholar experience, a program for first generation students designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.
“[I looked at] how reactions to that disclosure in turn would affect their mental health. Examining the differences in effects for positive reactions versus negative reactions to someone’s disclosure of sexual assault; understanding the differences between informal support systems, like family members, friends, coworkers, romantic partners, versus formal support systems like mental health professionals and police personnel,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan explained the social relevance of her research and why she was passionate about it.
“I think this is an understudied area and it’s something that is extremely important that deserves more attention,” said Buchanan. “We have a long way to go as a society when it comes to supporting survivors of sexual assault and believing them, and our legal system has a long way to go when it comes to supporting survivors of sexual assault.”
She pointed out how it is not only people in power at fault, but also everyday actions.
“It starts first as a society and a culture because rape culture is still very much alive and well, and that’s something that needs to change,” said Buchanan.
Sexual Assault Disclosure: Understanding How the Reception of Disclosure Effects Survivors’ Mental Health
Buchanan discussed the conclusions of her research, and how although some of them may seem obvious, there were discrepancies amongst them.
“When someone does receive a negative reaction to their sexual assault disclosure, it leads to worse mental health outcomes. Black women are actually more likely to receive negative reactions compared to white women,” said Buchanan.
She discussed her research’s findings on the effect of the type of support system on survivor mental health.
“If it’s someone they’re closer to, survivors are more likely to interpret reactions in a more positive manner even though it might have negative overtones. Often somebody will give multiple reactions, whether that’s supportive but also anger,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan discovered gaps that required further research.
“A lot of research focused only on white or Black women, which leaves out a whole other half of the population which doesn’t fit into those categories, and also men as well. Obviously women disproportionately experience sexual assault compared to men, but men are still a part of that and so understanding that as well,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan highlighted the importance this topic has especially for university students.
“College campuses are one of the places with the highest rates of sexual assault. I think it is really important, especially to combat this culture of victim blaming, to understand more about what that experience is like,” said Buchanan.
Sloane Prize for Undergraduate Research
The S.P.U.R. awards were established in 2016 in memory of Dr. Mike Sloane, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who worked to provide opportunities for undergraduates to present their research.
The award was given to recipients in each of ten categories. Buchanan won third place in Social and Behavioral Sciences. The official number of participants in this category has not yet been released but by definition there were over 25 entries.
Buchanan explained that although this award was meaningful for her, she viewed it more as an accomplishment of the programs that helped her achieve it.
“An award like this means recognition, but really for me too it means recognition for the programs that I’m a part of because it’s with their help and support that I was able to get here,” said Buchanan.
As a first-generation scholar from Little Rock, Arkansas, Buchanan was proud to represent the people who assisted her journey. She highlighted the individual programs that have been meaningful to her.
“The McNair scholars program – they’re the reason I did that research, why I’m applying to grad school, and everything like that. The center for FirstGen, the Honors College here at Suffolk, and getting financial support from them,” said Buchanan.
National Collegiate Honors Council and Future Research
The NCHC celebrated its 60th anniversary during its conference titled “Charting Partnerships and Collaborations to Inspire Honors” Nov. 6-9. Buchanan was one of 16 students that Suffolk’s CAS Honors Program to travel to San Diego and present their research.
Buchanan presented her research Nov. 8 through a poster presentation alongside other students from around the United States.
“It is really fun getting to see other student posters and getting to ask them questions about their research,” said Buchanan. “Just being intellectually curious is something that is really supported and is great to have at a conference.”
Outside of her presentation, she was able to explore other assets of NCHC and San Diego.
“I got to hear presentations and research from so many other different topics. It really helps me expand my knowledge in general because there’s so many things – you don’t know what you don’t know. [San Diego] was great too because I got to experience a whole new environment where I had never been, and I don’t know when I would go on my own,” said Buchanan.
Although this research was important to her, she has moved in a different direction with her studies.
“At the time when I conducted this, I was really interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology but now I want to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan shared ideas she has for future research.
“I’m more focused on understanding racial inequality within the feminist movement and also the recent rise of women participating in these right wing social movements, and understanding the gendered aspects of their participation and how that differs from men. Also this promotion of extremist ideology online too. Those are more what I’m interested in now,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan is interested in pursuing research after she graduates from Suffolk in the spring.
“I want to get my Ph.D. and right now I’m looking at doing research in think tanks. Really what I want to do is research that is not only rigorous but can also be used by general society and help create positive social change. That’s really what I’m about,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan’s award highlighted not only the dedication and work she put into her research, but also the impact Suffolk programs can have and the importance of how society treats sexual assault victims.
