The Need for Power in Women Who Were Sexually Abused as Children

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Huser Liem ◽  
Joan Gateley O'Toole ◽  
Jacquelyn Boone James
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Assessment Technique ◽  
Indirect Assessment ◽  
Need For Power ◽  
Picture Story Exercise ◽  
Picture Story ◽  
Preliminary Study

Ten women who had been sexually abused as children and a matched group of women who had not been sexually abused participated in a preliminary study to explore the hypothesis that feelings of powerlessness and a compensatory need for power continue into adulthood for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The Picture-Story Exercise (PSE) was used as an indirect assessment technique to determine the level of the need for power (McClelland, 1985; Winter, 1973, 1988). Results indicated that the stories of women with sexual abuse histories revealed a higher need for power and greater fear of power than those of nonabused women. Further content analysis of the PSE revealed that sexual abuse survivors' stories also contained more references to Finkelhor and Browne's (1986) dynamics of powerlessness, traumatic sexualization, betrayal, and stigmatization. These findings suggest important directions for future research as well as areas for therapeutic exploration.

It’s only an x-ray! How informed interactions can help anxious patients who were sexually abused as children

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-111
Author(s):  
Jayne Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Dental Anxiety ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Practice Staff ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Know How

Can patients who experience dental anxiety due to sexual abuse as children be confident that they will be treated with compassion and understanding, respect and reassurance? Do all members of the dental team know how to help childhood abuse survivors? Here, the issues faced by patients and how practice staff at all levels can help them overcome their anxieties are explored.

Listening to the Stories of Adults in Treatment who Were Sexually Abused as Children

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim M. Anderson ◽  
Catherine Hiersteiner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Life Narrative ◽  
Health Treatment

This qualitative study examines the healing and recovery stories of 27 adult sexual abuse survivors. Three main themes emerged in their narratives: (1) creating a coherent life narrative, (2) the importance of turning points along the way, and (3) developing supportive connections. Results from this study underscore the importance of grounding mental health treatment and services in the words, style, content, and form of client stories. Narrative theory holds particular promise as a guiding model for understanding the stories of adults who experienced sexual abuse in childhood.

Children’s Coping and Perceptions of Coping Efficacy After Sexual Abuse: Links to Trauma Symptoms

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051986372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia L. Campbell ◽  
Rachel Wamser-Nanney ◽  
Julia C. Sager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Externalizing Symptoms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Coping Efficacy ◽  
Perceived Efficacy ◽  
Children's Coping ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms

Despite an emphasis on coping following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to reduce trauma-related symptoms, very few studies have researched the associations between sexually abused children’s coping and trauma-related difficulties, and perceived coping efficacy has been largely overlooked. The current study investigated whether children’s use and perceived efficacy of avoidant, internalized, angry, and active/social coping strategies were associated with caregiver- and child-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms among 202 sexually abused children (8-12 years; M = 10.47 years, SD = 1.70 years). Children reported using approximately eight types of coping strategies ( M = 8.29, SD =2.50). Regression models indicated that internalized and angry coping were associated with child-reported PTSS. In contrast to expectations, none of the types of coping strategies were linked with caregiver’s reports of PTSS or internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Interestingly, perceived efficacy of coping was largely unrelated to symptoms, with only perceived efficacy of avoidant coping inversely related to child-reported PTSS. Perceived efficacy was not tied to caregiver’s reports of children’s symptoms. Coping strategies may be associated with children’s, but not caregiver’s, reports of children’s trauma-related difficulties. Furthermore, perceived efficacy of coping strategies may also be largely unrelated to children’s symptoms, or children may have limited insight regarding the efficacy of their coping strategies. To further inform trauma-focused interventions that support effective long-term coping, future research should investigate which coping strategies children perceive to be efficacious, as well as potential reasons why.

Thought and Language Disorder among Sexually Abused Children in a Psychiatric Hospital

2013 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine Conway ◽  
Priyam Talreja ◽  
James McCarthy ◽  
Fiona Conway
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Logical Reasoning ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Abused Children ◽  
Small Effect Size ◽  
Sexually Abused Children

The empirical literature offers evidence that childhood sexual abuse is a predictor of psychopathology in adults. However, the literature examining the relations between thought disorder and psychotic symptoms in children is sparse. Children with a history of childhood sexual abuse are expected to demonstrate more disturbances in thought relative to their peers with no childhood sexual abuse. Using the Thought and Language Index, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) narratives for four commonly used TAT cards obtained from 39 closed charts of hospitalized children were analyzed. Narratives were assessed on seven dimensions including weakening of goals, perseveration, looseness, peculiar word usage, peculiar sentence construction, non-logical reasoning, and distractibility. Good inter-rater reliability was obtained. Sexually abused children had higher aberrant scores on card number four compared to non-abused children. Sexual abuse history was a predictive factor for non-logical reasoning, with small effect size. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Need for Power Predicts Career Intent in University Students

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Ramsay ◽  
Joyce S. Pang ◽  
Moon-Ho R. Ho ◽  
Kim Yin Chan
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Implicit Motivation ◽  
Career Preference ◽  
Career Intention ◽  
Need For Power ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intent ◽  
Picture Story Exercise ◽  
Career Intent ◽  
Picture Story ◽  
And Performance

Previous research has indicated robust relationships between implicit motives and various indices of career preference and performance, with the implicit need for power ( nPow) and the implicit need for achievement ( nAch) found to associate with leadership and entrepreneurship, respectively. However, relatively little work has examined the relationships between implicit motivation and career intention. In the present study, 149 university students completed questionnaires assessing their intention to embark on entrepreneurial, professional, or leadership careers, while implicit motivation was measured using the picture story exercise. nPow was found to positively predict entrepreneurial intent and to negatively predict professional intent, while higher nPow was positively associated with both entrepreneurial and leadership career choice. nAch did not associate significantly with any of the intent or choice measures. These results tentatively suggest a previously undocumented relationship between nPow and entrepreneurial ambition, and possible differences in the motivational profiles of aspiring and actual entrepreneurs.

In their own words: The experience of mothering as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret O'Dougherty Wright ◽  
Joan Fopma-Loy ◽  
Katherine Oberle
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Sexual Abuse ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Hard Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Sexual Abuse Survivors ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Purposive Sample

AbstractThis article reviews past research on the parenting characteristics of childhood sexual abuse survivors and presents the results of a qualitative study exploring the women's perspectives on mothering as a survivor. Grounded theory was used in the collection and analysis of the data. Data sources included the narrative responses of 79 women (mean age = 38.2 years) and in-depth interviews of a purposive sample of 15 women (mean age = 39 years). They had an average of 2.2 children, ranging in age from 5 months to young adulthood. The theoretical model identified through analysis of data using the constant comparison method was entitled “The Hard Work of Mothering as a Survivor.” Processes emerged that described the ways participants managed the work of mothering in light of memories of the abuse and attempts to heal from this earlier trauma. The conditions for committing to the work included becoming aware of and accepting the reality of the abuse and how it affected one's life, and taking on the hard work of developing a mothering self. This included expanding awareness, developing and evaluating a personal model of mothering, navigating typical and abuse salient parenting challenges, mothering through the pain of recovery, and battling for balance. The findings highlighted the dynamic, multifaceted nature of recovery and resilience for these mothers and the need for an increased focus on parenting in counseling with childhood sexual abuse survivors. Provision of anticipatory guidance regarding commonly experienced stressors at varying stages of the child's development and the mother's stage of recovery and methods for coping with these challenges, would benefit these mothers and promote parenting competence. Specific implications for psychotherapy and directions for future research are discussed.

Therapeutic Practices for Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents: Resources for Marriage, Family, and Couples’ Counselors

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-365
Author(s):  
James M. Devlin ◽  
Lisa Hill ◽  
Jordan Berry ◽  
Kerri Felder ◽  
Clara Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Abused Children ◽  
Effects Of Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexually Abused Children

Marriage, family, and couple counselors should be educated in various treatment options for sexually abused adolescents, due to the frequency, and severity of this form of abuse. The long-term effects of sexual abuse can be devastating for victims. Posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression are potential issues resulting from sexual abuse. The present review analyzes three different therapeutic approaches family counselors may use for working with sexually abused children and adolescents. These approaches include trauma-focused-cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy and expressive art therapy, eye movement and desensitization, and reprocessing therapy. Implications for family, marriage, and couples’ counselors are provided recommendations as well for future research.

Executive Functions and Clinical and Academic Outcomes in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1221-1230
Author(s):  
Jane Roitsch ◽  
Kimberly A. Murphy ◽  
Anastasia M. Raymer
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Praxis Ii ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
Preliminary Study

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate executive function measures as they relate to clinical and academic performance outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Method An observational design incorporating correlations and stepwise multiple regressions was used to determine the strength of the relationships between clinical outcomes that occurred at various time points throughout the graduate program (clinical coursework grades throughout the program and case study paper scores at the end of the program), academic outcomes (graduate grade point average and Praxis II exam in speech-language pathology scores), and executive function (EF) scores (EF assessment scores, self-reported EF scores). Participants were 37 students (36 women, M age = 24.1) in a master's degree program in speech-language pathology at a southeastern U.S. university during the 2017–2018 academic year. Results Findings of this preliminary study indicated that a limited number of objective EF scores and self-reported EF scores were related to clinical and academic outcomes of graduate speech-language pathology students. Conclusion As results of this preliminary study suggest that EF tests may be related to clinical and academic outcomes, future research can move to study the potential role of EF measures in the graduate admissions process in clinical graduate programs such as speech-language pathology.

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