Relational outcomes of childhood sexual trauma in female survivors: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study examines the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the intimate and marital relationships of adult survivors from a sample composed primarily of African American women. In addition, the authors explore the protective role of maternal support. Interview data are collected on 136 women with documented histories of CSA who indicate the quality and nature of their current marital relationships and other interpersonal connections. Results suggest that CSA survivors with poor maternal attachment are more likely to enter into marital or cohabiting relationships. However, more severe sexual trauma in childhood correlates with greater marital dissatisfaction. Good maternal attachment during childhood has a negative main effect on adult interpersonal problems and a buffering effect on the relationship between abuse and marital dissatisfaction. These data can help guide future research on the adult relational outcomes of female CSA survivors, especially among minority populations.     

Romantic Attachment as a Moderator of the Association Between Childhood Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Childhood abuse can have significant negative effects on survivors that often last into adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of romantic attachment in understanding the relationship between childhood abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in adulthood. Data for this study were taken from the first wave of a five-wave longitudinal study. The sample included 120 mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy. Regression analyses were conducted in order to examine adult romantic attachment as a possible protective or vulnerability factor. Main effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on PTSD symptoms were found, such that higher levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were related to more PTSD symptoms. Attachment avoidance moderated this relationship, such that child abuse was significantly related to greater PTSD symptoms in those with high attachment avoidance. Implications for attachment-based interventions are discussed.     

Self-worth as a mediator between attachment and posttraumatic stress in interpersonal trauma

It is well documented that most trauma survivors recover from adversity and only a number of them go on to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, survivors of interpersonal trauma (IPT) appear to be at heightened risk for developing PTSD in comparison to survivors of noninterpersonal trauma (NIPT). Despite a robust association between IPT exposure and attachment disruptions, there is a dearth of research examining the role of attachment-related processes implicated in predicting PTSD. Using a sample of college undergraduates exposed to IPT and NIPT, this study explores the mediating effect of self-worth in the relationship between attachment and PTSD. It is hypothesized that insecure attachment will be related to posttraumatic symptomatology via a reduced sense of self-worth in IPT survivors but not in NIPT survivors. Mediation analyses provide support for this hypothesis, suggesting the importance of considering negative cognitions about the self in therapeutic interventions, particularly those offered to IPT survivors.     

Degrees of Memory of Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Women Survivors in Therapy

Past and current memory for childhood sexual abuse reported by a clinical sample of 160 women survivors was assessed utilizing a structured clinical interview. Response alternatives for memory were ordered along a continuum. To minimize treatment effects, participants were interviewed as early in therapy as possible. Fairly complete recollection both in the past and currently was reported by 26.3% of the sample, 36.9% apparently lost and subsequently recovered sexual abuse memories, and 36.9% endorsed intermediate degrees of memory. Only 2.5% indicated a decrease in degree of recollection over time. Age at onset was the only abuse characteristic found to differentiate participants with fairly complete memory from the rest of the sample. Findings are interpreted as illustrating that conclusions about memory for abuse are highly dependent on the way inquiries are conceptualized and worded.     

Carrying the misery to adulthood: the impact of childhood sexual abuse on adulthood impulse control through depression and suicidal thoughts

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been linked to a wide range of negative outcomes, including the development of low impulse control in adulthood. Because previous studies have identified impulsivity as a robust predictor of antisocial and criminal behaviors, CSA may be an important early-in-life risk factor to consider. But the pathway between CSA and impulsivity is not well understood. Research suggests CSA is an important predictor of various forms of psychopathology, such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Pulling this all together, we investigated the possibility that CSA impacts depression and suicidal thoughts and that those experiences go on to affect the development and manifestation of impulse control in adulthood. We drew on a nationally representative sample of adolescents and adults (Add Health) to test the pathways by which CSA might affect impulse control. We found that CSA negatively influences impulse control, and that depression and suicidal thoughts may mediate this relationship. Our findings highlight the importance of trauma-oriented interventions for survivors of CSA – on top of their other benefits, such interventions may have an influence on the development of impulse control later in life.     

Understanding economic abuse in the lives of survivors

Intimate partner violence (IPV) often includes economic abuse as one tactic commonly used by an abuser; unfortunately, there is a lack of empirical understanding of economic abuse. Additionally, research is limited on the predictors of economic self-sufficiency in the lives of women experiencing IPV. This paper furthers our knowledge about economic abuse and its relationship with economic self-sufficiency by presenting the results from an exploratory study with IPV survivors participating in a financial literacy program. Of the 120 individuals who participated in the first wave, 94% experienced some form of economic abuse, which also correlated highly with other forms of IPV. Seventy-nine percent experienced some form of economic control, 79% experienced economic exploitative behaviors, and 78% experienced employment sabotage. MANOVA results also indicated that economic control differed significantly based on education with those with a high school education experiencing higher rates than those with less than high school education or those with some college. Finally, results from the OLS regressions indicated that experiencing any form of economic abuse as well as economic control significantly predicted a decrease in economic self sufficiency. Implications suggest that advocates should assess for economic abuse when working with survivors and should be prepared to offer financial tools to increase survivors' economic self-sufficiency. Policymakers should understand the ramifications of economic abuse and create policies that support survivors and prohibit economic abuse. Finally, more research is needed to fully understand economic abuse and its impact on survivors and their economic self-sufficiency.     

Grooming child victims into sexual abuse: a psychometric analysis of survivors’ experiences

This study sought to examine the psychometric properties of the Grooming subscale of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI) in a sample of adult survivors of child sexual abuse. There are currently no other research measures that examine grooming events as experienced by survivors, which underscores the importance of a reliable and valid way of gathering this information. Participants (n?=?295) were adult survivors of child sexual abuse who completed this anonymous study online. The sample was collected through the use of adult survivor of child sexual abuse websites, trauma blogs, and survivor group pages on Facebook. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Cronbach’s Alpha were used to ascertain the reliability and validity of this subscale. These analyses suggest that the Grooming subscale of the CAMI is a reliable and valid measure. This measure is an important addition to the body of research instruments that measure adult survivor of child sexual abuse experiences, particularly since this is the only instrument that examines grooming from this perspective.     

Perceived Parenting Competencies following Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors may face specific challenges in their parental role because of the negative sequelae of their abuse. This study explored factors that might heighten or buffer the risk for problems in parenting for intrafamilial CSA survivors. A community sample of 54 CSA mothers completed questionnaires assessing the severity of their CSA experiences, current depressive symptoms, partner support, and key parenting dimensions. Six moderated mediational models revealed that CSA severity indirectly impacted the survivor’s bond with her child, limit setting ability, communication, and parental involvement through depressive symptoms at high levels of partner support. Partner support was protective against many difficulties in parenting at low levels of depressive symptoms, but did not promote, and at times hindered, effective parenting at high depressive symptoms. This study’s findings highlight the importance of attending to risk and protective factors in understanding parenting among CSA survivors.     

Dysfunctional Parenting and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration and Victimization among College Women: the Mediating Role of Schemas

Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) are negative cognitions about self and relationships that develop early in life, distort our perceptions of life experiences and are sustained via confirmatory information processing (Young et al. 2003). Although empirical evidence supports the relationship between EMS and psychopathology, there is a relative paucity of research regarding the relationship between EMS and intimate partner violence (IPV). The goal of the present study was to elucidate the complex relations between recollections of dysfunctional parenting, EMS, and IPV victimization and perpetration in adulthood. A sample of 305 women college students completed measures of perceptions of parental bonding, EMS, and relationship conflict behaviors. Results revealed that the EMS of subjugation and self-sacrifice accounted for 13.9% of the variance in IPV victimization; however, the EMS of subjugation was the only significant predictor of IPV victimization and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV victimization. Additionally, although the EMS of entitlement, insufficient self-control, mistrust/abuse, abandonment, and social isolation accounted for 11.3% of the variance in IPV perpetration, only the EMS of insufficient self-control and mistrust/abuse were significant predictors of IPV perpetration and mediated the relationship between recollections of dysfunctional parenting and IPV perpetration. Results suggest that these cognitive schemas may be the mechanism through which dysfunctional parenting renders one vulnerable to violence in relationships.     

Prediction of attitudes towards child sexual abuse among three different Norwegian samples

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to reveal attitudes towards child sexual abuse and investigate predictors of such attitudes. A random sample of the Norwegian adult population (n = 296), active Christians (n = 125) and prisoners convicted of child sexual abuse (n = 36) were included in the study. The results show that women were more negative towards child sexual abuse than men, and the prisoners had more accepting attitudes than the other samples. Predictors of attitudes differed across the samples. Empathy and normlessness were the best predictors of attitudes among the random sample of adults and the active Christians. The largest predictor of attitudes among the prisoners was their view of women. The implications of the results for prevention strategies are discussed.     

Reasons for Returning to Abusive Relationships: Effects of Prior Victimization

Studies have demonstrated that women with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at increased risk of revictimization, but research has not yet examined whether a history of CSA may affect patterns of remaining in or returning to abusive relationships in adulthood. This study examines the impact of a CSA history on decisions to return to abusive relationships in a sample of 104 adult domestic violence survivors. Participants were interviewed about the number of times that they had previously separated from and returned to their abusive partner, the factors that influenced their decision to return (both psychological/internal and environmental/external factors), and their perceived likelihood of returning in the future. As predicted, CSA survivors (n = 34) reported a significantly greater number of past separations than non-CSA survivors (n = 70). CSA survivors were also significantly more likely to report that their decisions to return were influenced by emotional attachment to the batterer. CSA survivors did not perceive themselves to be at greater risk of returning in the future, suggesting that they may be more likely to underestimate their vulnerability to returning to the battering relationship. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Childhood Physical Abuse and Adult Attachment Styles

The purpose of the study was to identify the insecure adult attachment style associated with childhood physical abuse. Five hundred fifty-two female and 294 male university students completed questionnaires on their child abuse history, adult attachment style, and other variables. Regression analyses were completed. A history of physical abuse was associated with attachment avoidance while controlling for other forms of childhood abuse. Some support was also found for an association between physical abuse and attachment anxiety. Social support, as a control variable, was found to be an important predictor of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety. A history of childhood physical abuse has important and specific impacts on intimate adult relationships with social support acting as a possible protective factor.     

The Social Context of Woman-to-Woman Intimate Partner Abuse (WWIPA)

Forty women who had been in abusive adult, intimate relationships with other women were interviewed. Their life experiences leading up to these abusive relationships were qualitatively examined to determine how heterosexism created a social context in which women were left vulnerable to abuse and dependent on their abusers. Childhood abuse, negative coming out experiences, lack of a queer community, and substance/alcohol abuse contributed to survivors’ vulnerability to abuse by making them socially isolated from a support system and dependent on their partners to reconstruct a sense of family.     

Acts of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Empirically Derived Typology

A clinical sample of 165 women survivors in outpatient therapy was surveyed about whether their childhood sexual abuse (CSA) included each of 17 sexual acts. Factor analysis of these acts was conducted. A typology of CSA acts consisting of three factors emerged. Inspection of the acts loading on each factor suggested that they differed primarily in terms of the type of abuse of power implied by them rather than in the nature of the sexual behavior involved. The three factors were named Coerced Complicance (Coercion), Subjugation and Humiliation (Subjugation) and Invasive Objectification (Objectification). Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice, and the need for evaluating the generalizability of the typology to other subpopulations of survivors, are discussed.     

Emotional Dysregulation and Negative Affect Mediate the Relationship Between Maternal History of Child Maltreatment and Maternal Child Abuse Potential

Risk for committing child abuse is frequently attributed to an intergenerational “cycle of violence” through which abuse as a child increases risk for committing abuse as a parent. While this hypothesis has support, more research is needed to understand the factors that account for this pattern of risk. Given literature suggesting that adults with a history of child maltreatment have increased risk for a wide range of psychopathology, this study examined the role of two behavioral endophenotypes, emotional dysregulation and negative affect, in the association between maternal experiences of childhood maltreatment and maternal child abuse potential among 83 low-income, primarily African-American mothers of elementary school age children. Results indicate that a mother’s experience of abuse as a child predicts later risk for abusive parenting as measured by child abuse potential scores. However, our data also indicate that the relationship between maternal experience of child abuse and later child abuse potential is mediated by maternal emotional dysregulation and negative affect.     

He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not: Attachment and Separation Resolution of Abused Women

Working within an attachment perspective, we examined women's success at emotional separation from abusive partners. The attachment patterns of 63 abused women were assessed shortly after having left their abusive relationships. Six months later, their perceptions, feelings, and behaviors regarding the separation were assessed, to determine an overall level of separation resolution. As expected, attachment patterns associated with a negative self model were overrepresented (88% of the sample had a predominant pattern of fearful or preoccupied attachment). Further, preoccupation was associated with shorter relationship length, more frequent previous separations from the abusive relationship, continuing emotional involvement with partners after separation, and more frequent sexual contact with partners. These findings suggest that preoccupation may be a risk factor in successful separation resolution from abusive relationships.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse,Other Childhood Factors,and Pathways to Survivors’ Adult Relationship Quality

We were interested in understanding how the effects of childhood sexual abuse, in concert with other negative childhood experiences, were carried forward into adult romantic relationships. Data from 15,831 married or cohabitating individuals were gathered via the RELATE Questionnaire. Empirical research, attachment theory, and a general model of adult relationship quality suggested that the path from negative childhood events to adult relationship quality was mediated by a number of individual and relational affect-laden variables. Results showed that childhood abuse and other family-of-origin variables work primarily through the adult survivor’s perceptions of the events of his or her childhood. This “current impact” variable, along with the current level of depression, work through an emotion-laden relationship variable—level of emotional flooding during couple conflict—to influence the relationship quality outcome variable. Treatment implications are discussed.     

Child sexual abuse and adult romantic adjustment: comparison of single- and multiple-indicator measures

This study compared the usefulness of single- and multiple-indicator strategies in a model examining the role of child sexual abuse (CSA) to predict later marital satisfaction through attachment and psychological distress. The sample included 1,092 women and men from a nonclinical population in cohabiting or marital relationships. The single-item measure assessed the presence or absence of CSA. The multiple-indicator measure included items relating to level of force, relationship with perpetrator, number of abusive experiences, and nature of assault. Structural equation modeling indicated that, for research purposes, a dichotomized item provided as much information as a complex measure to predict the relationship between sexual abuse and marital adjustment through attachment representations and psychological distress. However, when analyses were conducted strictly within the CSA victims group, no correlation was found between abuse severity and psychosocial measures. The present results show that in a community sample, CSA may be an important risk factor that develops couple difficulties, regardless of the severity of the trauma.     

Police responses to wife beating: Neglect of a crime of violence

Data were collected from women seeking admission to a spouse abuse shelter in a small southern city. The questionnaire which they completed requested demographics and a wide variety of attitudinal data. The paper reports an analysis of the women's perceptions of police responses to their victimization, their feelings towards self, and their willingness to pursue mobilization of the law in their own behalf. It was reported that the police rarely made referrals to helping agencies and that the most common police action was to “talk” to the assaulter/batterer. Victims' feelings toward self were not nearly as negative overall in this sample as is typically assumed of abused women. Some support was found for a series of hypotheses that positive police responses enhance the victims' self-image and encourage them to seek mobilization of the law.