Closeness in Relationships as a Mediator Between Sexual Abuse in Childhood or Adolescence and Psychopathological Outcome in Adulthood (original) (raw)
Related papers
Adult Attachment: A Mediator Between Child Sexual Abuse and Later Psychological Adjustment
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1999
This study investigated the nature of the relationship between child sexual abuse, adult attachment style as measured by the Relationship Questionnaire, and psychological adjustment as measured by the Trauma Symptom Inventory. Participants were 307 female university students, including 85 women with a history of child sexual abuse. Results indicated that a history of child sexual abuse predicted both psychological adjustment and adult attachment style, and that adult attachment style predicted psychological adjustment. In addition, a mediational model in which attachment mediates between child sexual abuse and later psychological adjustment was supported. Results are discussed in terms of implications for conducting therapy with child sexual abuse survivors.
Child sexual abuse and subsequent relational and personal functioning: The role of parental support
Child Abuse & Neglect, 2014
This study examined the role of nonoffending parental support in the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and later romantic attachment, psychiatric symptoms, and couple adjustment. Of 348 adults engaged in stable romantic relationship, 59 (17%) reported sexual abuse. In this subgroup, 14% (n = 8) reported parental intervention after the abuse was disclosed (i.e., support), 15% (n = 9) reported a lack of parental intervention after abuse disclosure (i.e., nonsupport), and 71% (n = 42) reported that their nonabusive parent(s) was(were) unaware of their abuse. Results indicated that, compared to other groups, CSA survivors with nonsupportive parents reported higher levels of anxious attachment, psychological symptoms, and dyadic maladjustment. In contrast, CSA survivors with supportive parent(s) expressed psychological and couple adjustment equivalent to non-abused participants, and lower attachment avoidance, relative to all other groups. Path analysis revealed that insecure attachment completely mediated the relationship between perceived parental support after CSA and later psychosocial outcomes. An actor-partner interdependence model showed different patterns for men and women and highlighted the importance of considering relational dynamics in dyads of CSA survivors. Overall, the results suggest that perceived parental support serves as a protective factor among those exposed to CSA.
Journal of interpersonal violence, 2015
Experiencing sexual trauma has been linked to internalizing and externalizing psychopathologies. Insecure attachment has been shown to moderate the relation between sexual trauma and trauma symptoms among adults. However, few studies have explored relations among sexual trauma, attachment insecurity, and trauma symptoms in adolescence, and none have used developmentally appropriate measures. The present study sought to examine attachment security as a potential moderator of the relation between having a history of sexual trauma (HST) and trauma symptoms among adolescents at an inpatient psychiatric facility. Attachment to caregivers was measured by the Child Attachment Interview (CAI) and trauma symptoms by the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC). HST was assessed with responses to two separate interviews that asked about traumatic experiences: the Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (C-DISC) and the CAI. Moderation analyses were conducted using univari...
The effects of experienced childhood maternal abuse on adult attachment styles
2007
The relationship between experienced maternal abuse and the development of an insecure attachment style was examined. Data was collected via selfreport questionnaires in a large, urban college campus. The questionnaires used were the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-2, Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996) and Attachment Questionnaire (AQ, Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). The sample included 81 females and 86 males, ranging in age from 18-57 years old. No significant correlation was found between the experience of maternal abuse and the development of a fearful attachment style. The results did support a significant correlation between maternal abuse and the development of an insecure-dismissive attachment style. Future research is needed with more diverse samples that consist of more variability in abuse.
Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2018
The present study examined the possibility of different groups of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors based on their different patterns of attachment and sexual problems. A sample of 324 CSA survivors and 484 participants who did not report any child maltreatment experiences completed online questionnaires. A cluster analysis on attachment and sexual outcomes revealed that CSA survivors formed two distinct profiles. The first profile included CSA survivors with elevated attachment anxiety and low to moderate scores on attachment avoidance, sexual compulsion, and sexual avoidance. The second profile comprised CSA survivors with high scores on attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, sexual compulsion, and sexual avoidance. These groups were then compared on CSA severity, gender differences, and other child maltreatment experiences. As compared to CSA survivors of the first profile, survivors from the second profile reported more intrusive and extrafamilial CSA, higher rates of psychological maltreatment and witnessed parental violence, and experienced more personal and couple distress. These results suggest that CSA survivors form a heterogeneous population and that sexual abuse is differentially associated with the complex unfolding of the attachment and sexual systems within two distinct subgroups. Child sexual abuse (CSA) is defined as any sexual act, ranging from sexual touching to sexual intercourse, between a person under the age of 16 and an individual more than five years older (or an authority figure) (World Health Organization, 1999). CSA is judged to be more severe when abusive sexual experiences are more frequent, more intrusive (i.e., anal or vaginal penetration or penetration attempt), and when the assailant is a parental figure (Zink, Klesges, Stevens, & Decker, 2009). Although most scientific and clinical literature point toward adverse short-and long-term effects of CSA (Murray, Nguyen, & Cohen, 2014), outcome heterogeneity remains a significant problem that needs to be addressed from a wide range of perspectives. In the present study, heterogeneity outcomes are explored through an examination of the diversity of attachment and sexual difficulties in adult survivors of CSA. Adult attachment For adults in a couple relationship, attachment is defined by the emotional bond between partners and refers to a pattern of interaction designed to satisfy needs for attention, security, and support, especially when facing stressful situations (Simpson & Rholes, 2012). The adult attachment system is generally CONTACT Chloé Labadie chloe.labadie.@ulaval.ca
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Sexually Abused Children: Secure Attachment as a Protective Factor
Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
The aim of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that attachment and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) interacted such that school aged CSA survivors with insecure attachment to parents would be at an elevated risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma symptoms. Participants (n = 111, ages 7–12) comprised two groups, child CSA survivors (n = 43) and a matched comparison group of children (n = 68) recruited from the community. Children completed the Child Attachment Interview (CAI) as well as the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). There was a significant interaction between sexual abuse history and attachment security, such that sexually abused children with insecure attachment representations had significantly more PTSD and trauma symptoms than sexually abused children with secure attachment to parents. The findings show that using a dual lens of attachment and CSA can facilitate the identification of children most at risk and has important i...
Journal of Family Violence, 2009
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. Keywords Child sexual abuse. Relationship quality. Emotional health. Path model Literature Review Childhood sexual abuse has been the subject of a vast body of research (Kendall-Tackett et al. 1993). Understanding the adult effects of childhood sexual abuse is complicated because the list of associated conditions, such as depressed
The Relationship Between Adult Attachment and Trauma
2010
Prior research has suggested a complex relationship between childhood interpersonal traumas perpetrated by attachment figures and the experience of trauma in adulthood. Very little is known, however, about how various forms of childhood interpersonal abuse and neglect affect trauma sequelae and adult romantic attachment in women during the childbearing years. Using a sample of postpartum women (N = 104), this study examined the associations between a history of attachment-related traumas (operationalized as childhood interpersonal abuse and neglect) and complex trauma sequelae believed to be unique to victims of interpersonal traumas; the possible role that adult romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance (i.e., insecurity-security) may have in understanding these associations was also investigated. This study also examined the associations between secure base scripts, or cognitive structures thought to underlie internal working models of attachment established early in life, and attachment-related traumas, the adult romantic attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance, and complex trauma outcomes. Results of this study indicated that attachment-related traumas were associated with adult romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance and complex trauma outcomes, and that adult romantic attachment insecurity-security may be an important mechanism by which early attachment-related traumas influence later complex trauma outcomes. In addition, while results indicated a significant relationship between the two types of secure base scripts, findings revealed no relationship between secure base scriptedness and attachment-related traumas or adult romantic attachment insecurity-security. Finally, both types of secure base scriptedness were related to a self-report measure of trauma-related cognitions. Implications of study findings are discussed in light of previous literature and attachment and trauma theories.
Offenders’ Attachment and Sexual Abuse Onset
Sexual Abuse, 2012
Confidential self-report data obtained on 107 adult male child sexual abusers were analyzed to test theoretical propositions concerning the role of attachment problems in the onset of sexual offending. Offenders’ parent–child attachment relationships were most frequently characterized by affectionless control, reflecting low parental care and high overprotection and control. Offenders reported significantly less secure attachment with their fathers than with their mothers. Overall, weak continuity from childhood attachment to trait (general) adult attachment was found, with insecure attachment more stable than secure attachment. Childhood attachment problems, particularly with fathers, were more clearly reflected in state adult attachment (i.e., in the month preceding sexual offending onset) than in trait adult attachment. Offenders who were in an adult intimate relationship prior to their onset sexual offense reported significant state increases in attachment avoidance, and their o...
Child Abuse & Neglect, 1997
Objective: The primary aim was to determine the relative contributions of early attachment and abuse history to adult attachment, depression, and conflict resolution behaviors. Differences between abused and nonabused respondents were also assessed. Method: A multi-scale questionnaire was completed by 879 college students. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to answer the primary research question, and analyses also compared the 26.4% of respondents who reported childhood abuse with those who did not. Results: Respondents who indicated they had been abused as children reported less secure childhood and adult relationships than their nonabused counterparts. They were also more depressed and more likely to use destructive behaviors in conflict situations. Although both adult romantic attachment and respondents' depression scores were best accounted for by childhood attachment to mother and father rather than abuse history, the opposite pattern of results emerged for conflict resolution behaviors. In this case, abuse history was the stronger predictor, and parental attachment did not account for any significant additional variance. Conclusions: Results suggest that the long-term impact of childhood abuse may be mediated by early attachment experiences, whereas the long-term impact of abuse on conflict resolution behaviors may be considerably more direct.