Top

Published in:

01-10-2007

Positive Resolution of Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences: The Role of Coping, Benefit-Finding and Meaning-Making

Authors: Margaret O’Dougherty Wright, Emily Crawford, Katherine Sebastian

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 7/2007

Abstract

Resolution of the trauma of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and the current adjustment of 60 adult female CSA survivors were explored through qualitative and quantitative analyses of their coping strategies, perceived benefits, and meaning-making attempts. While the majority of the women (87%) perceived at least some benefit resulting from coping with the CSA experience, many (29%) found it impossible to make any meaning of their trauma. Specific benefits that were associated with various aspects of positive adjustment (marital satisfaction, better physical health, less isolation) included improved relationships with others, religious or spiritual growth, and improved parenting skills. Some perceived benefits were actually associated with a negative outcome. Increased knowledge of sexual abuse was associated with more isolation and lower marital satisfaction. When positive meaning could be derived from the coping process, the women reported less isolation. Avoidant coping was strongly associated with more depressive symptoms and poorer resolution of abuse issues. Results highlight the importance of considering coping strategies and cognitive restructuring efforts in designing therapeutic interventions with this population.

Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting stress index (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Amirkhan, J. H. (1990). A factor analytically derived measure of coping: The coping strategy indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1066–1074.CrossRef

Arata, C. M. (2002). Child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 9, 135–164.CrossRef

Bal, S., Van Oost, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Crombez, G. (2003). Avoidant coping as a mediator between self-reported sexual abuse and stress-related symptoms in adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 883–897.CrossRef

Bonanno, G. A., Keltner, D., Holen, A., & Horowitz, M. J. (1995). When avoiding unpleasant emotion might not be such a bad thing: Verbal-autonomic response dissociation and midlife conjugal bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 975–985.CrossRef

Brand, B. L., & Alexander, P. C. (2003). Coping with incest: The relationship between recollections of childhood coping and adult functioning in female survivors of incest. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 285–293.PubMedCrossRef

Briere, J. (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of the lasting effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Coffey, P., Leitenberg, H., Henning, K., Turner, T., & Bennett, R. T. (1996). The relation between methods of coping during adulthood with a history of childhood sexual abuse and current psychological adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1090–1093.PubMedCrossRef

DiLillo, D. (2001). Interpersonal functioning among women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse: Empirical findings and methodological issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 553–576.PubMedCrossRef

DiLillo, D., Long, P. J., & Russell, L. M. (1994). Childhood coping strategies of intrafamilial and extrafamilial female sexual abuse victims. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 3, 45–65.CrossRef

Draucker, C. B. (2001). Learning the harsh realities of life: Sexual violence, disillusionment, and meaning. Health Care for Women International, 22, 67–84.PubMedCrossRef

Finkelhor, D., & Browne, A. (1985). The traumatic impact of child sexual abuse: A conceptualization. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55, 531–541.

Futa, K. T., Nash, C. L., Hansen, D. J., & Garbin, C. P. (2003). Adult survivors of childhood abuse: An analysis of coping mechanisms used for stressful childhood memories and current stressors. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 227–239.CrossRef

Himelein, M. J., & McElrath, J. V. (1996). Resilient child sexual abuse survivors: Cognitive coping and illusion. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 747–758.CrossRef

Hodgins, D. C., Maticka-Tyndale, E., El-Guebaly, N., & West, M. (1993). The CAST-6: Development of a short-form of the children of alcoholics screening test. Addictive Behaviors, 18, 337–345.PubMedCrossRef

Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered assumptions. New York: Free Press.

Janoff-Bulman, R. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 30–34.

Janoff-Bulman, R., & Frantz, C. M. (1997). The impact of trauma on meaning: From meaningless world to meaningful life. In M. Power & C. R. Brewin (Eds.), The transformation of meaning in psychological therapies (pp. 75–89). New York: Wiley.

Jonzon, E., & Lindblad, F. (2004). Disclosure, reactions, and social support: Findings from a sample of adult victims of child sexual abuse. Child Maltreatment, 9, 190–200.PubMedCrossRef

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping.New York: Springer.

Leitenberg, H., Greenwald, E., & Cado, S. (1992). A retrospective study of long-term methods of coping with having been sexually abused during childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 399–407.CrossRef

Liem, J. H., James, J. B., O’Toole, J. G., & Boudewyn, A. C. (1997). Assessing resilience in adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 594–606.PubMedCrossRef

Long, P. J., & Jackson, J. L. (1993). Childhood coping strategies and the adult adjustment of female sexual abuse victims. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2, 23–39.CrossRef

McFarland, C., & Alvaro, C. (2000). The impact of motivation on temporal comparisons: Coping with traumatic events by perceiving personal growth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 327–343.PubMedCrossRef

McMillen, C., Zuravin, S., & Rideout, G. (1995). Perceived benefit from child sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 1037–1043.PubMedCrossRef

Merrill, L. L., Thomsen, C. J., Sinclair, B. B., Gold, S. R., & Milner, J. S. (2001). Predicting the impact of child sexual abuse on women: The role of abuse severity, parental support, and coping strategies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 992–1006.PubMedCrossRef

Messman-Moore, T. L., & Long, P. J. (2003). The role of childhood sexual abuse sequelae in sexual revictimization: An empirical review and theoretical reformulation. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 537–571.PubMedCrossRef

Peterson, C., & Steen, T. A. (2002). Optimistic explanatory style. In C. R. Synder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 244–256). New York: Oxford University Press.

Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.CrossRef

Radloff, L. S., & Locke, B. Z. (1986). The community mental health assessment survey and the CES-D Scale. In M. M. Wissman, J. K. Myers, & C. E. Ross (Eds.), Community surveys of psychiatric disorders (pp. 177–189). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Schwartzer, R., & Knoll, N. (2003). Positive coping: Mastering demands and searching for meaning. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (pp. 393–409). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Sewell, K. W., & Williams, A. M. (2001). Construing stress: A constructivist therapeutic approach to posttraumatic stress reactions. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss (pp. 293–310). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Silver, R. L., Boon, C., & Stones, M. H. (1983). Searching for meaning in misfortune: Making sense of incest. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 81–102.CrossRef

Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.CrossRef

Taylor, S. E. (1989). Positive illusions: Creative self-deception and the healthy mind. New York: Basic Books.

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1–18.CrossRef

Ullman, S. E. (2003). Social reactions to child sexual abuse disclosures: A critical review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 12, 89–111.PubMedCrossRef

Wortman, C. B. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Progress and problems. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 81–90.

Wright, M. O., Fopma-Loy, J., & Fischer, S. (2005). Multidimensional assessment of resilience in mothers who are child sexual abuse survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1173–1193.CrossRef

Wright, M. O., & Masten, A. S. (2005). Resilience processes in development: Fostering positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In S. Goldstein, & R. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 17–37). New York: Kluwer.CrossRef

Title: Positive Resolution of Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences: The Role of Coping, Benefit-Finding and Meaning-Making
Authors: Margaret O’Dougherty Wright
Emily Crawford
Katherine Sebastian
Publication date: 01-10-2007
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 7/2007
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9111-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Positive Resolution of Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences: The Role of Coping, Benefit-Finding and Meaning-Making

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 7/2007

Examining the Behavior of a System: An Outcome Evaluation of a Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence

A Family Affair: The Juvenile Court and Family Violence Cases

Child–Parent Violence: An Empirical Analysis of Offender, Victim, and Event Characteristics in a National Sample of Reported Incidents

The Relationship of Acculturation and Social Integration to Assaults on Intimate Partners Among Mexican American and Non-Mexican White Students

Children’s Direct Exposure to Types of Domestic Violence Crime: A Population-based Investigation

Coparenting Conflict and Parenting Behavior in Economically Disadvantaged Single Parent African American Families: The Role of Maternal Psychological Distress