Child victims of sexual abuse: Teachers' evaluation of emotion regulation and social adaptation in school

Abstract

This study assessed the social adaptation of sexually abused children and tested whether children's emotion regulation competencies mediated the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and two outcomes of the social domain (i.e. withdrawal and social difficulties). A group of 283 child victims of sexual abuse and a comparison group composed of 60 nonabused children was recruited. Teachers completed questionnaires assessing the children's emotion regulation competencies, withdrawal, and social difficulties exhibited in the school context. Results showed that sexually abused children displayed poorer emotion regulation skills and higher levels of both withdrawal and social difficulties relative to nonabused children. CSA was associated with social difficulties and withdrawn behavior through the mediation of emotion regulation competencies. Teachers and school psychologists should be assisted in identifying children at risk of social difficulties and emotional dysregulation and schools be encouraged to adopt a trauma‐informed approach.

Child Maltreatment and Long-Term Physical and Mental Health Outcomes: An Exploration of Biopsychosocial Determinants and Implications for Prevention

“…Mediating pathways include attentional problems, lower engagement in extracurricular activities, and disciplinary absences [ 117 ]. Childhood maltreatment is also associated with poorer emotional regulation, social difficulties [ 118 ], mental health problems [ 119 ], internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems [ 120 ], bullying and cyberbullying [ 121 ], and developmental delay [ 122 ], all likely to impact on educational engagement and achievement.…”

“…School readiness is a high priority because competencies at school entry are highly predictive of ongoing educational trajectories [ 128 ] and competency gaps are likely to widen, rather than close, across the school years [ 129 ]. For children who have experienced childhood adversity, the key school readiness skillset of social-emotional competence (self-regulation, prosocial skills, relational abilities) is both detrimentally affected [ 118 , 130 ] and, when strengthened, can serve as a buffer against poorer long-term outcomes [ 131 ]. For these reasons a focus on social-emotional and behavioural outcomes in the early years of education is imperative with a number of key strategies identified [ 132 ].…”

Gender Differences in Parameters of Emotional Intelligence of Adolescents

“…Заслуживают особого внимания результаты исследования подростков, подвергшихся физическому насилию. Выявлено, что такие дети демонстрируют более слабые навыки регуляции эмоций и более высокий уровень зависимости и переживания социальных трудностей по сравнению с детьми, не подвергавшимися насилию [13].…”

Résultats de l’évaluation des effets d’un programme de prévention des agressions à caractère sexuel auprès d’élèves de secondaire III au cours de sa phase pilot

“…Par ailleurs, dans la dernière année, 52 % des adolescentes et 34 % des adolescents rapportent avoir vécu du harcèlement sexuel (Mitchell et al, 2014). En plus d'un risque accru de revictimisation, des répercussions négatives sont associées à la violence sexuelle vécue à l'enfance ou à l'adolescence, dont différentes difficultés psychologiques, interpersonnelles et scolaires (Amédée et al, 2019 ;Fergusson et al, 2013 ;Pérez-Fuentes et al, 2013).…”