Work

Early stigmatization, PTSD, and perceived negative reactions of others predict subsequent strategies for processing child sexual abuse.

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Trauma processing is central to healthy recovery, but few studies examine how youth process experiences of child sexual abuse (CSA). The current study builds on our prior work identifying individual differences in CSA processing strategies (i.e., Constructive, Absorbed, Avoidant) to examine whether abuse stigmatization, PTSD symptoms, and negative reactions from others experienced during the year after abuse discovery were associated with subsequent CSA processing strategies. METHOD: Participants included 160 ethnically diverse youth (8-15 years, 73% female) with confirmed cases of CSA. Predictors were measured at abuse discovery (T1) and 1 year later (T2). Individual differences in CSA processing strategies were assessed 6 years after discovery (T3) from participants' abuse narratives. RESULTS: = 0.636). CONCLUSIONS: Results further validate prior work identifying distinct CSA processing strategies and suggest the persistence of abuse-specific disruptions over the year after abuse discovery may be associated with subsequent problems processing CSA experiences.

Source: Psychology of Violence

DOI: 10.1037/a0038264

Authors: Valerie A. Simon, Candice Feiring, Charles M. Cleland

Institutions: Wayne State University, The College of New Jersey, New York University

Language: English

Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute of Mental Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development