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Herland MD. Understanding the Narratives of Child Sexual Abuse. QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH 2024; 34:842-852. [PMID: 38227892 PMCID: PMC11323421 DOI: 10.1177/10497323231218828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
This qualitative study consisted of in-depth, retrospective interviews with participants over the age of 18 who experienced child sexual abuse. Through narrative analysis, study findings shed light on three overall findings: the perception of memories, the perception of grooming, and the perception of the lived lives of child sexual abuse survivors. Findings suggest that the narratives elicited from the participants included current views but also past experiences and anticipation about the future, including individual and societal levels of meaning. These narratives are furthermore entangled and inexorably linked - temporally, culturally, generationally, materially, and emotionally - and the results are thus presented from a holistic perspective. Study findings help explain the complex dimensions concerning the lived experiences of child sexual abuse. As such, this research speaks to the field of social and health care practitioners working with children and families facing the complex phenomenon of child sexual abuse.
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van der Westhuizen M, Walker-Williams HJ, Fouché A. Meaning Making Mechanisms in Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Scoping Review. TRAUMA, VIOLENCE & ABUSE 2023; 24:1363-1386. [PMID: 35109730 DOI: 10.1177/15248380211066100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a complex and prevalent problem with devastating long-term consequences for survivors. Despite these consequences, some survivors seem to find a source of meaning and fulfillment throughout their recovery process, which may facilitate resilience and posttraumatic growth (PTG). However, little is known from the literature about the specific meaning making mechanisms that CSA survivors experience. A scoping review was conducted by searching relevant journals and several online databases such as EbscoHost, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Studies published in English and that discussed meaning making as a topic of recovery from CSA in the context of women survivors' experiences were included, where a total of 57 articles were selected including qualitative (n = 32), quantitative (n = 9), mixed method (n = 9), and review (n = 7) articles. Using thematic analysis, the results of the scoping review found four mechanisms of meaning making and seven sources of meaning describing the meaning making processes of women survivors of CSA. The mechanisms were identified as being benevolent; restoring and empowering the inner self; mobilizing external and social resources; and lastly actively integrating the trauma narrative. This study contributes toward the global knowledge base on meaning making mechanisms of women survivors of CSA by providing the first known summary of studies to date. Future research is recommended to further confirm these findings to inform treatment interventions for women survivors of CSA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ansie Fouché
- Compress, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
- United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Winterstein TB, Avieli H, Gichaz M. Recovering the Lost Soul: Older Women's Reflections on Past Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse. QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH 2023; 33:426-439. [PMID: 36882288 DOI: 10.1177/10497323231159802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) is a social problem with longstanding effects on victims' lives. While scholarly literature has focused on the adverse aftermath of sexual abuse, only a few studies have acknowledged older women's perspectives on their experience of IFCSA and their journey of healing and recovery. The aim of the present study was to explore how older survivors of IFCSA construct and shape their experience of healing in later life and the meaning they assign to this process. Narrative inquiry was selected to explore the narratives of 11 older women survivors of IFCSA. Participants were interviewed using a biographical narrative interviewing method. The narratives were then transcribed and analyzed using thematic, structural, and performance analyses. Four major themes emerged from the participants' narratives: Achieving closure; Spiritual framing of IFCSA as a platform for self-growth; Becoming whole in old age; and Looking to the future after IFCSA. During the aging years, IFCSA survivors may redefine their identity and their place in the world. Using life review processes, older women in this study were striving to heal and reconcile with their past.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hila Avieli
- Department of Criminology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | - Mili Gichaz
- Department of Gerontogy, University of Haifa, Ariel, Israel
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Sawyerr A, Adam-Bagley C. Can Prior Sexual Abuse Explain Global Differences in Measured Self-Esteem in Male and Female Adolescents? CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:children10020276. [PMID: 36832404 PMCID: PMC9955463 DOI: 10.3390/children10020276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
World research has shown that adolescent and young adult women and girls have significantly "poorer" self-esteem than men and boys, on a variety of previously validated self-esteem measures. There is no consensus on reasons for this, and a variety of factors have been proposed: some adolescent girls have a preoccupation with facial and body features, and this leads to a global negative evaluation of self-characteristics; the measures themselves are biased towards describing self-characteristics on which men and boys are likely to evaluate themselves more favourably; and in an often-sexist world, women and girls experience (or anticipate) many structural disadvantages, in education, career and promotion, which lead girls to "internalise" an image of themselves as less able or worthy than men and boys. A separate literature on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents has found that (a) sexual exploitation and maltreatment often has a sequel in impaired self-concept and self-esteem and (b) sexual maltreatment is twice as likely to occur in women and girls. It is puzzling that differential levels of child sexual abuse have not been advanced in many studies as an explanation of gender differences in self-esteem in the large-scale studies we review, although this effect is confirmed by clinical and social work literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Sawyerr
- Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2JA, UK
| | - Chris Adam-Bagley
- Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1UN, UK
- Correspondence:
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Watts JR, Lazzareschi NR, Liu Y, O'Sullivan D. Childhood psychological maltreatment, sense of self, and PTSD symptoms in emerging adulthood. JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Justin R. Watts
- Department of Rehabilitation Health Services College of Health and Public Service University of North Texas Denton Texas USA
| | - Nicholas R. Lazzareschi
- Department of Counseling and Higher Education College of Education University of North Texas Denton Texas USA
| | - Yanhong Liu
- Department of Counseling and Human Services School of Education Syracuse University Syracuse New York USA
| | - Deirdre O'Sullivan
- Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Special Education College of Education The Pennsylvania State University State College Pennsylvania USA
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Bryce I, Beccaria G, McIlveen P, Du Preez J. Reauthoring: The lived experience of cumulative harm and its influence on career choice. AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/10384162221101958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
People's career choices are not necessarily the unfolding of normative experiences. Instead, trauma experienced as cumulate harm throughout childhood affects developmental trajectories and career choices. There is, however, a dearth of research into the influences of cumulative harm on career development. The present research addresses that gap in the literature by an investigation into helping professionals’ recollections of their lived experiences of cumulative harm and how they construct its meaningfulness with regard to their work as a helping professional. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to the transcripts of interviews with n = 12 helping professionals. Participants sought to reauthor through the themes of meaning, value, adaptability and unintentional motivations. This reflected a journey for all participants from identity conclusions formed through childhood trauma to new territories of identity, achieved through a reconstruction of life narratives by integrating career narratives to reframe and make sense of their cumulative harm experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- India Bryce
- University of Southern Queensland, Australia
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Jagasia K, Saunders P, Roufeil L. “Now I Can See Things for What They Are”: The Experiences of Adult Children of Narcissists. JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTIVIST PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/10720537.2022.2048285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Komal Jagasia
- Discipline of Psychology, Australian College of Applied Professions, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Peter Saunders
- Discipline of Psychology, Australian College of Applied Professions, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Louise Roufeil
- Discipline of Psychology, Australian College of Applied Professions, Melbourne, Australia
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Graham K, Patterson T, Justice T, Rapsey C. "It's Not a Great Boulder, It's Just a Piece of Baggage": Older Women's Reflections on Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2022; 37:705-725. [PMID: 32306845 DOI: 10.1177/0886260520916270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we explored older women's reflections on processes of healing related to childhood sexual abuse (CSA). We aimed to answer questions about how childhood trauma was integrated into the life story and to identify factors or coping strategies that aided, or hindered, healing. Participants within this study included 12 women who were aged 60 or older and had reported CSA as adults at the beginning of the research project, 25 years prior. Qualitative interviews were conducted exploring women's reflections on the place of CSA in their lives over time and factors the participants thought were helpful or unhelpful in being able to come to terms with the abuse. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which resulted in three themes related to processes of healing. The themes identified were need for resolution, thinking about it differently, and developing agency over disclosure. The findings show that some form of resolution was needed for the women to recover and move on from their experiences of CSA. The two key strategies used to reach this resolution were reframing their experience or drawing upon positive life philosophies. Decisions around disclosure were also an important part of the healing process, with the women developing an agency over if, and how, they talked to people about their experience. Those women who were not able to make sense of their experience continued to be influenced by the negative feelings and memories associated with the experience. Our findings have implications for health professionals working with those who have experienced trauma. They demonstrate that there are a number of ways that people heal from trauma and find personal resolution across their lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tess Patterson
- University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Tener D, Sigad LI, Katz C, Shimron R, Harel E, Greenblum N, Shemesh M, Zabib YZ. "Maybe I imagined it, maybe it really was all just childish play": Complexity and ambiguity in survivors' perceptions of harmful preadolescent sexual behavior. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2022; 123:105368. [PMID: 34794016 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Harmful preadolescent sexual behavior (HPSB) is an understudied phenomenon in the field of child sexual abuse (CSA). OBJECTIVE The purpose of the present study was to analyze and describe the experiences and perceptions of adult survivors of HPSB. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 16 survivors of HPSB were recruited as part of a purposeful sample. Their ages at the time of the study ranged from 21 to 50; they were Jewish-Israeli, secular, and Hebrew-speaking. METHODS Semi-structured interviews and qualitative thematic analysis were conducted based on a descriptive phenomenological-psychological approach. RESULTS Participants described elements of complexity in their perceptions of the "truthiness" of their memories and the mutuality of the HPSB experiences, as well as their primacy, seriousness, and life impact. They also described elements of support during disclosure, but mostly exposed the challenges and hardship involved, particularly the lack of legitimacy in exposing harmful sexual behavior perpetrated by other children. CONCLUSIONS Both the HPSB experiences themselves and the subsequent disclosure contributed to the development of detached, mistrustful identities among the participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dafna Tener
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.
| | - Laura I Sigad
- Oranim College of Education, Department of Education for Children at Risk, Faculty of Graduate Studies. Kiryat Tiv'on 36011, Israel
| | - Carmit Katz
- Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Roni Shimron
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
| | - Eyal Harel
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
| | - Noam Greenblum
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
| | - Mor Shemesh
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
| | - Yael Zooker Zabib
- The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
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Easton SD. Disclosure of child sexual abuse: Directions for breaking new ground. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2020; 99:104287. [PMID: 31765850 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Scott D Easton
- Health and Mental Health Department, Boston College School of Social Work, United States.
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Easton SD, Leone-Sheehan DM, O'Leary PJ. "I Will Never Know the Person Who I Could Have Become": Perceived Changes in Self-Identity Among Adult Survivors of Clergy-Perpetrated Sexual Abuse. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2019; 34:1139-1162. [PMID: 27229919 DOI: 10.1177/0886260516650966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA) during childhood represents a tragic betrayal of trust that inflicts damage on the survivor, the family, and the parish community. Survivors often report CPSA has a disturbing impact on their self-identity. Despite intense media coverage of clergy abuse globally in the Catholic Church (and other faith communities) over several decades, relatively few empirical studies have been conducted with survivors. Beyond clinical observations and advocacy group reports, very little is known about survivors' perceptions of how the abuse impacted their long-term self-identity. Using data collected during the 2010 Health and Well-Being Survey, this qualitative analysis represents one of the first large-scale studies with a non-clinical sample of adult male survivors of CPSA from childhood (N = 205). The negative effects of the sexual abuse on participants were expressed across six domains of self-identity: (a) total self, (b) psychological self, (c) relational self, (d) gendered self, (e) aspirational self, and (f) spiritual self. These findings highlight the range and depth of self-suffering inflicted by this pernicious form of sexual violence. The findings are useful for developing clinical services for survivors, shaping public and institutional policies to address clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse, and guiding future research with this population.
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Wright C, Gabriel L. Perspectives of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: An Exploration of the Adjustments to Self-Structure through Meaning-Making in Therapy. JOURNAL OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE 2018; 27:663-681. [PMID: 30071187 DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2018.1496961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This critical literature review explored how adult survivors of child sexual abuse experienced adjustments to their self-structure through meaning-making in therapy. Following extensive searches of academic databases, 15 studies were identified for review. Using thematic analysis, eight themes emerged. The eight identified themes of trust, acknowledgement, evolution, acceptance, integration, congruence, relational, and agency represented distinct but interrelated components of self-structure. The findings also indicated that self-structure components may be both intra- and interrelational in nature and that movement in one theme may facilitate movement in another. While recognizing that the nature of the research captured a composite of experiences, it was found that there was a consistent movement and fluidity as to how participants arrived at an adjusted position for each of the themes. A suggested theoretical framework was developed showing the components of the self-structure impacted by meaning-making and the nature of the adjustments made. Recommendations are made regarding future research.
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