Resilience in Women Sexually Abused as Children

Abstract

research suggests that adult women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) vary on whether and how they experience long-term effects. According to current literature, the variation appears to be due to both risk and protective factors. In addition, the variation also appears to occur in connection with certain factors that function to help buffer the effects of CSA. The purpose of this study is to identify the protective factors that best predict resilience in a sample of 134 female adults who are members of AMAC (Adults Molested as Children). The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Abuse Characteristics, Multiple Victimisation and Resilience among Young Adult Males with Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

“…Our findings may be especially important when considering CSA outcomes because examining only one type of maltreatment may ignore or underestimate the effects of other types which often occur alongside one another (Finkelhor et al ., ) Third, the study added to our current understanding of resilience by considering adaptive functioning beyond the absence of psychopathology. This is in line with the recommendation of several researchers that resilience needs to be considered across multiple domains (Marriott et al ., ) and in a more positive light (Simpson, ).…”

“…This anonymous method of data collection was chosen because of the sensitive nature of the topic. Authors such as Simpson () suggest that this method may be preferable to in‐person interviews when conducting research with adults who have experienced CSA, as anonymity may help participants to feel safer, more in control and reassured about confidentiality. As some questions may have been distressing, relaxation techniques and a list of psychological resources were provided at the bottom of every questionnaire page.…”

“…The CD‐RISC is also compatible with Rutter's () definition of resilience, which extends along a continuum. Several studies on resilience among adult females with CSA experiences have used the CD‐RISC (Breno and Galupo, ; Simpson, ). To our knowledge, the scale has yet to be administered to a sample of males with histories of CSA.…”

“…Others have considered competence in one (Luthar et al ., ) or numerous (Bogar and Hulse‐Killacky, ) domains of functioning as indicators of resilient functioning. Fewer authors have used self‐reports of wellbeing (Kia‐Keating et al ., ) and psychometric measures such as the Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale (Simpson, ).…”

The Influence of Child Sexual Abuse on the Self from Adult Narrative Perspectives

“…The seminal conceptual framework developed by Finkelhor and Browne (1985) is helpful in understanding the long-term effects of sexual abuse and the development of coping strategies. The traditional focus on negative behaviours and individual psychopathology has been criticised as too narrow and potentially disempowering (Anderson & Hiersteiner, 2008;Simpson, 2010). Adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse are not a homogenous group and there are no simple causal relationships between sexual abuse in childhood and the well-being of individual adults (Walsh, Fortiere & DeLillo, 2010;Wilson, 2010).…”