“It’s Complicated Because We’re Only Sixteen”: A Framework for Understanding Childhood Sexual Abuse Disclosures to Peers

Abstract

The process of disclosing childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is very difficult for young people. Researchers have consistently found that young people disclose CSA to other youth at much higher rates than to familiar adults or authorities and indicate that CSA remains largely unknown to adults. However, no study to date has focused exclusively on understanding the process of youth-directed disclosures from young people’s perspectives. Using grounded theory methodology, this qualitative study aimed to understand the process of CSA disclosures to peers based on interviews with 30 young people from Canada and Ireland who have experienced CSA. The findings reflect the iterative and dialogical nature of the peer disclosure process and provide a framework for youth-directed disclosures that is centered on the theme of uncertainty. An underlying sense of uncertainty permeated the entire disclosure experience as participants’ narratives reflected six stages that were interrelated in a cyclical process: experiencing internal conflict, needing to tell and choosing to confide in peers, expecting emotional support from peers, gradual telling and making sense of the abuse, burden on peers, and assessing peer responses and further disclosures. In addition, this model was not static, as with time, participants reinterpreted their peers’ responses. The presented framework is consistent with previous conceptualizations of CSA disclosures, but the focus on youth-directed disclosures from the perspective of young people also allowed for a model that explains processes that are unique to peer disclosures. Practice and policy implications as well as limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Perceived barriers, relationship quality, and informal mentors: Adolescents' preference for disclosing about dating violence

“…By applying the PAPM framework, Foshee and colleagues recognized that disclosure and help‐seeking for victims of ADV carry potential for both benefit and risk: Disclosure could result in access to helpful resources but could also lead to experiences that are negative or harmful (e.g., victim blaming). Other scholars have used the PAPM to inform research on disclosure of cyber bullying (Chapin, 2016) and childhood sexual abuse (e.g., Manay et al 2020). This research has revealed that disclosure is seldom a discrete event but more often a dialogic, relational process that can span several years and occurs within the context of trusted relationship (Brattfjell & Flåm, 2019; Reitsema & Grietens, 2016).…”

Disclosing Child Sexual Abuse to a Health Professional: A Metasynthesis

“…That is, beyond the obstacles and the negative aspects already known in the literature for survivors before and after disclosure ( 21 ), our results show that healthcare professionals undergo an experience that mirrors that of survivors, in particular those survivors interviewed shortly after the disclosure: experience of solitude, uncertainty, discomfort, and fear, but also of the negative, even traumatic experiences of disclosure. This is closely akin to the concepts of “vicarious trauma” ( 51 ) and “burden sharing,” already described in the context of CSA disclosure within families ( 12 ) or with peers ( 52 ). The experiences of disclosures with negative effects, both for survivors and healthcare professionals, can have an iatrogenic effect on the disclosure process, obstructing both the survivor’s voice and the professionals’ investigation.…”

‘Letting you share when you need to share’: navigating the potential and precarity of friends and peers for UK young people after sexual abuse in adolescence

“…Crucially, and a potentially unique contribution of this study, is evidence that even when young people are faced with uncertainty (Manay et al, 2022) and are aware of the fragility of these relationships and risks associated with disclosure to friends or peers, they continue to reach out. This indicates two things.…”