The mediating role of safety, trust, and esteem in explaining the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult revictimization /
Previous literature has strongly emphasized that the prevalence of revictimization among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors is an important and serious problem, and that the psychological and emotional effects can be devastating. However, there are few studies that have empirically investigated...
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
2002.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=765051131&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | Previous literature has strongly emphasized that the prevalence of revictimization among childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors is an important and serious problem, and that the psychological and emotional effects can be devastating. However, there are few studies that have empirically investigated the relationship between CSA and adult revictimization. The purpose of this study was to better understand why adult revictimization occurs at a higher rate among childhood sexual abuse survivors. More specifically, the goal of this research study was to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult revictimization, and the extent to which that relationship is mediated by women's self-perceptions of safety, trust, and esteem. A sample of 106 female participants between the ages of 20 and 60 was obtained. Participants were comprised of female community members who were either employees or volunteer advocates for organizations/agencies that predominantly served women and children. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire comprised of a demographic section, a modified version of Finkelhor's (1979) survey of Childhood Sexual Experiences (CSE), a modified version of Finkelhor's (1979) survey of Unwanted Adult Sexual Experiences (UASE), Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS) (Pearlman, in press), and a measurement of participant's cognitive schemas across the life span (SALS). Ordinary least-squares (OLS) multiple regression was used to identify the mediating variable (cognitive schemas of safety, trust, and esteem) and to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results of this study indicated that women who had a greater number of unwanted sexual experiences during childhood tended to have more disrupted self-safety and self-esteem schemas as adults. Although CSA increased the likelihood of adult revictimization which is consistent with previous research, schemas related to safety, trust, and esteem were not found to mediate the relationship between CSA and adult revictimization. Self-safety, in fact, was the only variable to explain additional variance of CSA on adult revictimization. The results also show that the more recent the last victimization, the more disrupted the schemas in self-safety and self-trust. And finally, the results suggested that there was a significant difference in schemas among revictimized adults and nonvictims. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology". |
| Physical Description: | viii, 97 leaves ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-80). |