Predicting the impact of child sexual abuse on women: The role of abuse severity, parental support, and coping strategies.

Merrill, Lex L.; Thomsen, Cynthia J.; Sinclair, Barbara B.; Gold, Steven R.; Milner, Joel S.

doi:10.1037/0022-006x.69.6.992

Cited by 148 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(124 reference statements)

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“…Use of self-destructive coping in response to CSA was positively associated with both dysfunctional sexual behavior and number of sex partners, and dysfunctional sexual behavior was positively associated with number of sex partners. This suggests that sexually abused women who initially cope with abuse in self-destructive ways may be prone to continued use of self-destructive strategies, such as engaging in dysfunctional sex- ^ Merrill et al (2001) documented increased use of adaptive as well as avoidant and self-destructive coping strategies among participants with more severe abuse. However, CSA severity and coping as predictors of sexual functioning and behavior have not been previously studied in this sample or in any other sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A modified version of the How I Deal With Things Scale (Burt & Katz, 1987) was used to assess coping (see Merrill et al, 2001, for information about scale modifications). Respondents who had experienced CSA were asked to rate the frequency (1 = rarely, 5 = usually) with which they used each of 30 coping strategies to deal with their childhood sexual experience(s) "in the weeks and months after it first occurred."…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Child Sexual Abuse and Number of Sexual Partners in Young Women: The Role of Abuse Severity, Coping Style, and Sexual Functioning.

Merrill¹,

Guimond²,

Thomsen³

et al. 2003

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

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The authors proposed and tested a model describing distinct pathways through which childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may lead to relatively low or high numbers of sexual partners in adulthood. Path analyses were conducted on survey responses of young female U.S. Navy recruits who reported CSA (N ϭ 547). Use of avoidant strategies to cope with CSA was expected to produce higher levels of sexual problems and fewer heterosexual sex partners, whereas use of self-destructive coping strategies was expected to result in more dysfunctional sexual behavior and more heterosexual sex partners. As predicted, the effect of CSA on number of sex partners was largely mediated by coping strategies and dysfunctional sexual behavior.Child sexual abuse (CSA) has been associated with numerous negative outcomes, including anxiety, depression, suicide attempts, low self-esteem, substance abuse, and problems with trust and intimacy (for reviews, see Beitchman et al., 1992;Browne & Finkelhor, 1986;Green, 1993). One of the most frequently reported findings is that sexually abused women are at increased risk for sexual difficulties ranging from avoidance of sex to compulsive sexual behavior (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986;Green, 1993;Polsuny & Follette, 1995). Finkelhor and Browne (1985) proposed that CSA might produce seemingly opposing outcomes-"aversion to sex" versus "sexual promiscuity"-through the process of traumatic sexualization.Traumatic sexualization refers to the shaping of a child's sexuality in an interpersonally dysfunctional manner, leading to lasting inappropriate associations with sexual activity and arousal. Specifically, if a child experiences high levels of revulsion, fear, anger, or powerlessness during CSA, he or she may be conditioned to associate sex with negative emotions and memories. These negative emotional reactions may subsequently generalize to nonabusive sexual experiences in adulthood, leading to sexual dysfunction, including phobic reactions to sexual intimacy and avoid-ance of sex. In other cases, CSA experiences may teach the child to associate rewards, attention, and affection with engaging in sexual behavior. If this occurs, adults sexually abused as children may use sex to meet nonsexual needs (e.g., seeking love through sex, sexualizing nonsexual relationships, or using sex to manipulate others), and sexual promiscuity may result. Finkelhor and Browne's (1985) conceptualization of traumatic sexualization thus suggests that some adults sexually abused as children will engage in sexual activity with many partners, whereas others will engage in little sexual activity and have few partners.Research on sexual behavior in adults sexually abused as children has generally found that sexually abused respondents have more sex partners than nonabused respondents. This has been documented in clinical populations and populations at high risk of contracting HIV (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child Sexual Abuse and Number of Sexual Partners in Young Women: The Role of Abuse Severity, Coping Style, and Sexual Functioning.

Merrill¹,

Guimond²,

Thomsen³

et al. 2003

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

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“…El modelo predominante para clasificar las estrategias empleadas en el afrontamiento del abuso es el de aproximación-evitación, según el cual, los pensamientos y/o acciones se pueden dirigir hacia una amenaza (aproximación) o a alejarse de ella (evitación) (Merrill, Thomsen, Sinclair, Gold y Milner, 2001). Prácticamente todos los estudios que han examinado el efecto de diferentes estrategias han encontrado una relación entre las estrategias de evitación (p.e., negación, distanciamiento, aislamiento social) y un peor ajuste psicológico tras el ASI (Cantón-Cortés y Cantón, 2010;Hébert, et al, 2006).…”

Section: Variables Cognitivas De La Víctimaunclassified

Consecuencias del abuso sexual infantil: una revisión de las variables intervinientes

Cantón-Cortés

Cortés

2015

analesps

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Resumen: En las últimas décadas el abuso sexual infantil (ASI) ha suscitado un gran interés, tanto entre la comunidad científica, como en la sociedad en general, debido a su prevalencia y consecuencias a corto y a largo plazo. Aunque la mayoría de los estudios que han examinado las secuelas del ASI enumeran numerosas dificultades psicológicas, sociales, conductuales y físi-cas, ciertamente no todas las víctimas de abuso infantil muestran un daño significativo posterior, existiendo una amplia variabilidad en el ajuste de las víctimas. Ante esta diversidad el presente trabajo, tras realizar una revisión de las consecuencias a corto y largo plazo del ASI, pretende discernir cuales son las principales variables que determinan los efectos del abuso sobre la víctimas. Las características del abuso, víctima y agresor, los factores situacionales y, especialmente, las variables cognitivas de la víctima se han demostrado como eficaces para explicar la gravedad de la sintomatología. Concretamente, las investigaciones realizadas en los últimos años han encontrado que la sustitución de estrategias de afrontamiento de evitación por estrategias de aproximación, la eliminación de las atribuciones de autoinculpación e inculpación a la familia y de los sentimientos relacionados con las cuatro dinámicas traumatogénicas y la promoción de un estilo de apego seguro resultarían beneficiosos a la hora de prevenir futuros problemas causados por la experiencia de abuso. Palabras clave: Abuso sexual infantil; consecuencias; variables intervinientes; características del abuso; factores situacionales; variables cognitivas.Title: Child sexual abuse consequences: a review of intervening variables. Abstract: Over the last few decade child sexual abuse (CSA) have provoked a great deal of interest, both among the scientific community and the society, due to its prevalence and short and long term consequences. Although most of the studies examining CSA sequelae list numerous psychological, social, behavioral and physical difficulties, certainly not every child abuse survivor shows a significant harm thereafter, existing a great variability on the survivor´s adjustment. In light of this diversity the present work, after review the short and long term consequences of CSA, attempt to discern which are the main variables that determine the effects of the abuse on the survivors. Characteristics of the abuse, survivor and perpetrator, situational factors and, specially, survivor´s cognitive variables have been proved as efficient in order to explain the symptomatology severity. Specifically, studies have found that replacing avoidance coping strategies by approaching ones, eliminating self-blame and family blame attributions and the four traumagenic dynamics feelings, as well as promoting a secure attachment style would have a positive impact in order to prevent future problems caused by the experience of abuse. Key words: Child sexual abuse; consequences; intervening variables; abuse characteristics; situational factors; cognitive variables. Introducc...

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“…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 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first study explored the psychological distress of more than 4 000 female navy-recruits (M age = 19.7 years-old), comparing those who reported CSA (N =1 134) to non-victims. Results revealed that a retrospective recall of maternal and paternal support during childhood predicted psychological distress in adult women (Merrill et al 2001). The second study involved 188 undergraduate women (including 44 victims of CSA; M age = 21 years-old) and revealed that the presence of paternal support among women who reported CSA predicted better selfesteem.…”

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confidence: 97%

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

Parent-Boursier

Hébert

2014

J Fam Viol

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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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Predicting the impact of child sexual abuse on women: The role of abuse severity, parental support, and coping strategies.

Cited by 148 publications

References 56 publications

Child Sexual Abuse and Number of Sexual Partners in Young Women: The Role of Abuse Severity, Coping Style, and Sexual Functioning.

Child Sexual Abuse and Number of Sexual Partners in Young Women: The Role of Abuse Severity, Coping Style, and Sexual Functioning.

Consecuencias del abuso sexual infantil: una revisión de las variables intervinientes

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

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