Coping strategies and social support as mediators of consequences in child sexual abuse victims

Tremblay, Caroline; Hébert, Martine; Piché, Christiane

doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(99)00056-3

Cited by 216 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Trickett et al (2001) showed that the closer relationship to the perpetrator, the worse the associated outcome. Tremblay et al (1999) also found similar findings, that children abused by a family member experienced more internalizing problems (depression, anxiety) compared to those abused by strangers or acquaintances. In this study, the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim did not show significant association to depression probably because the perpetuator was a boyfriend or acquaintance in most cases (68.6%).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Young female survivors of sexual abuse in Malaysia and depression: What factors are associated with better outcome?

Wahab

Tan

Marimuthu

et al. 2013

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry

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Introduction:Research in the field of child sexual abuse is lacking in Malaysia. The aims of this study are to identify the association between sociodemographic factors and depression among sexually abused females. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 51 young sexually abused female attendees at the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) clinic of Hospital Kuala Lumpur, a tertiary referral centre. Upon obtaining informed consent from participant and guardian, participants were screened for depression using the Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) and interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K-SADS) for depressive disorders and K-SADS-PL (Present and Lifetime version) to diagnose depression. Sociodemographic data and details of the abuse were also obtained. Results: Of the survivors, 33.3% were depressed. Univariate analysis showed significant association between legal guardianship, living environment and duration of abuse with depression, however, multivariate analyses later showed that the sole predictor for depression was living environment. Respondents who lived with others were 23-times more likely to be depressed as compared to those who lived with their parents. Discussion: Depression is common among young survivors of sexual abuse. Those who lived with parents appeared to have a better outcome. Thus, further research to explore possible protective factors associated with living with parents is vital. This will help clinicians develop strategies to empower parents and families help these young survivors get back on track with their lives despite the abuse.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Young female survivors of sexual abuse in Malaysia and depression: What factors are associated with better outcome?

Wahab

Tan

Marimuthu

et al. 2013

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry

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“…Aspects of the abuse such as the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator (Fischer & McDonald, 1998); the invasiveness and chronicity of the abuse (Black, Dubowtz, & Harrington, 1994); and the amount of physical violence involved (Gomes-Schawrtz, Horowitz, & Cardarelli, 1990) all have a potential impact on the level of abuse-related stress experienced by the child. Following CSA disclosure, the degree to which children are supported by non-abusing parents, the degree to which the perpetrator denies the abuse, and the amount of disruption in the child's living arrangements (including changing residence) may all impact on psychological adjustment (Romans, Martin, Anderson, O'Shea, & Mullen, 1995;Spaccarelli & Kim, 1995;Toth & Cicchetti, 1996;Tremblay, Hebert, & Piche, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiles of child sexual abuse cases in Ireland: an archival study

Nolan¹,

O’Flaherty

Turner

et al. 2002

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Objective. This study aimed to profile subgroups of CSA cases referred for assessment at two national CSA assessment centres in Ireland.Method. Historical and clinical data for 150 CSA cases were drawn from records of two Dublin based national specialist sexual abuse assessment and therapeutic centres. Three main comparisons were made involving (1) 113 confirmed CSA cases and 37 unconfirmed CSA cases; (2) 55 confirmed CSA cases who displayed clinically significant behaviour problems and the 56 confirmed CSA cases without significant adjustment difficulties; and (3) 19 confirmed CSA cases in which violence was a central feature and 79 confirmed cases in which violence was not a central feature.Results. There were three main findings. (1) More unconfirmed cases were male; had single or separated parents; and a father with a criminal history. As a group, the confirmed cases were largely youngsters who had been abused by male adults or adolescents outside their nuclear family and who subsequently were well supported by one or two parents. (2) Poorly adjusted CSA victims had a history of coercive violent abuse while better-adjusted children were victims of non-violent abuse. (3) Victims of violent CSA were more likely to have experienced penetrative abuse and to display more externalizing behaviour problems.

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“…Indeed, women who reported growing up in cohesive families were found to have higher self-esteem and better social and psychological adjustment, independently from the identity of the perpetrator involved (Ray and Jackson 1997). In a study involving children and adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old, Bal et al (2004) found that victims displayed less internalized behaviors (e.g., depression) following disclosure if the family was described as cohesive.In another study, using a sample of 50 victims of sexual abuse ages six to 12, and a measure of global general support, children's perception of parental support was associated with less externalized behaviors and higher self-esteem (Tremblay et al 1999). Yet, no association was found between parental support and internalized behavior problems.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In another study, using a sample of 50 victims of sexual abuse ages six to 12, and a measure of global general support, children's perception of parental support was associated with less externalized behaviors and higher self-esteem (Tremblay et al 1999). Yet, no association was found between parental support and internalized behavior problems.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Most importantly, this elucidated the unique effect of the father-child relationship. Past studies had delineated the influence of the mother-child relationship (Cyr et al 2003;Plummer and Eastin 2007;Rakow et al 2011) or the global parental relationship (Bolen and Lamb 2007;Tremblay et al 1999; Yancey and Hansen 2010) on children's outcomes. Yet, until now few studies had more specifically explored the possible influence of the father-child relationship on children's recovery following disclosure of sexual abuse.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Security in Father-child Relationship and Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Children

Parent-Boursier

Hébert

2014

J Fam Viol

Self Cite

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While the influence of mother-child relationships on children's recovery following sexual abuse has been documented, less is known about the possible contribution of father-child relationships on outcomes. The present study explored the contribution of children's perception of security in their relationship to the father on internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, while controlling for sociodemographic variables and variables associated with the mother-child relationship. Participants were 142 children who disclosed sexual abuse involving a perpetrator other than the biological father. Regression analyses indicated that children's perception of security to fathers contributed to the prediction of parental reports of children's behavior problems, even after controlling for maternal psychological distress and perception of security to mothers. KeywordsChild sexual abuse; perception of security to fathers; perception of security to mothers; psychological distress Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a widespread social problem that affects children and adolescents, both boys and girls. Prevalence of CSA occurring in childhood (i.e. before the age of 18) is established at 18% for women and 8% for men (Stoltenborgh et al. 2011). Among all substantiated reports of child abuse in the US, 9% involve CSA, meaning that more than 63 000 children per year are reported to public services for sexual abuse (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Numerous studies have shown that child victims of sexual abuse are more likely to demonstrate negative emotional, psychological, and social outcomes compared with non-abused children (Guelzow et al. 2002; Hébert et al. 2006a, b;Swanston et al. 2003;Walrath et al. 2003). However, outcomes following the disclosure of CSA have been described as quite diverse (Hébert et al. 2006a, b;Paolucci et al. 2001) and empirical reports have identified factors associated with variability of outcomes. Some studies revealed that abuse-related characteristics such as the duration (chronic) and severity of acts (penetration), the perpetrator's identity (intra-familial perpetrator) as well as the use of coercion have been related to more detrimental outcomes (Hulme and Agrawal 2004;Merrill et al. 2001). However, other studies have failed to identify a link between abuse-related variables and children's symptoms (Bal et al. 2004 CIHR Author ManuscriptCIHR Author Manuscript CIHR Author Manuscript Bennett et al. 2000; Romano and De Luca 2001), highlighting the need to consider other variables that may contribute to outcomes in child victims of CSA.Authors argue that familial factors, such as quality of attachment to parents, parental capacity to support the child following disclosure, and family characteristics (e.g., cohesion and conflict), can influence a child's capacity to cope with sexual abuse. On this matter, a study by Ray and Jackson (1997) found that adult survivors of CSA were better able to cope with the situation when the family environment was evaluated as being cohesive....

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Coping strategies and social support as mediators of consequences in child sexual abuse victims

Cited by 216 publications

References 54 publications

Young female survivors of sexual abuse in Malaysia and depression: What factors are associated with better outcome?

Young female survivors of sexual abuse in Malaysia and depression: What factors are associated with better outcome?

Profiles of child sexual abuse cases in Ireland: an archival study

Security in Father-child Relationship and Behavior Problems in Sexually Abused Children

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