Ethnic differences in help-seeking behaviour following child sexual abuse: a multi-method study

"Pay Attention! Pay Attention! Pay Attention!!!": The Pivotal Role of Educators and the Educational System as Experienced by Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Educational institutions and educators are significant in children's lives, and they have a crucial role in implementing policies, practices, and sexual education to enhance children's safety. Such policies and practices should be based on the voices of CSA survivors. This study explored child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors' viewpoints on their past experiences with educators and the educational system. A qualitative thematic approach was used to analyze 61 written testimonies collected in 2020-2021 by the Israeli Independent Public Inquiry on CSA. Two interrelated themes arose: (1) CSA survivors' retrospective perspectives of educators and the educational system's responses to signs of their CSA, described as ranging from abusive to life-saving. Specifically, they shared three types of responses: (a) harmful and hurtful; (b) dismissive and ignoring; and (c) accepting and attending. (2) The second theme described the survivors' messages to educators to promote constructive change. The survivors conveyed expectations that educators should play a central role in CSA prevention, detection, and intervention and, specifically, the need for educators to receive professional training, provide beneficial sexual education, and identify and respond to CSA. The findings promoted moving beyond individual-level interventions to focus on improving educational institutional and organizational cultures related to CSA in both national and international contexts.

Multicultural Competence as a Common Factor in the Process and Outcome of Counseling

Much research has been conducted on multicultural competence (MCC) over the past four decades, though there is still a need to conduct further research into the role of MCC within actual counseling relationships and in relation to additional variables. The present survey study was designed to better elaborate on the relationship between MCC and several common factor therapy and outcome variables within counseling relationships. Findings indicated that MCC was more strongly correlated with all measured variables (except perceived change) within counseling relationships where client and/or counselor identified as BIPOC than in White–White client counselor dyads. MCC was associated with higher ratings on the other measured variables regardless of client–counselor race or ethnicity. Finally, path analysis supported a model where MCC (a therapist factor) influenced process factors, which in turn influenced therapeutic outcomes. The results provide support for the importance of MCC to the process and outcome of counseling, particularly for BIPOC clients.

Young People’s Coping Strategies When Dealing With Their Own and a Friend’s Symptoms of Poor Mental Health: A Qualitative Study

Young people struggle to seek help for their mental health, despite having different resources available. As the coping process is very complex, and elements such as trust and availability of resources have been said to influence it, this study aimed to understand how young people cope with their own or a friend’s symptoms of poor mental health. Eleven young people (13–15 years old) were interviewed. Thematic Analysis of the interviews showed that participants reported different coping strategies for dealing with their own hypothetical symptoms and those of a friend. Participants identified the social impact of experiencing symptoms of poor mental health and choice of resources as the main factors influencing their coping strategies. For their own symptoms, young people expressed concern about being judged and that they would only disclose to someone they trust. Participants would not disclose a friend’s symptoms because they did not want to break their trust. Finally, choice of resources was mainly influenced by the severity of symptoms being experienced, especially when it comes to asking for professional help. This study contributes to a better understanding of the different ways in which young people cope with their own symptoms and symptoms experienced by a friend.