scholarly journals ‘‘A journey back to my wholeness’’: A qualitative metasynthesis on the relational and sexual recovery process of child sexual abuse survivors

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-86
Author(s):  
Roxanne Guyon ◽  
Mylène Fernet ◽  
Natacha Godbout
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Sexual Life ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Sexual Outcomes ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Qualitative Component ◽  
Personalized Approach ◽  
Synthesis Approach

Objective: This study aims to document the relational and sexual recovery process of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Method: Using the framework-based synthesis approach (Dixon-Woods, 2011), a metasynthesis was conducted on qualitative peer-reviewed studies published between 2004 and 2019, focusing on the recovery from relational and sexual outcomes related to CSA experiences. Criteria of inclusion: 1) included self-identified men or women who had sustained sexual abuse in childhood; 2) focused on CSA related relational or sexual outcomes and recovery processes; 3) included a qualitative component incorporating interviews or focus groups; 4) were carried out in Western countries. According to these criteria, a sample of eight articles was constituted. A direct content analysis was performed using The Drive to Move Forward Framework (Ochocka et al., 2005). Results: Findings yielded three main categories that illustrate the relational and sexual recovery process of CSA survivors: 1) The Drive to Move Forward after CSA; 2) Positive Strategies Mobilized to Recover from Relational and Sexual Issues Left by CSA and; 3) Social Circumstances that Facilitate or Hinder the Relational and Sexual Recovery Process. Conclusion: Although their relational and sexual recovery process may involve setbacks, and that they may be confronted with impeding social circumstances, survivors mobilize strategies and social resources to help them move forward after CSA. Implication: In order to help CSA survivors in achieving a satisfying relational and sexual life, providers should adopt a personalized approach that respects their process of relational and sexual recovery and adopt an ecological perspective to better understand the factors that can modulate this process.

Personality Disorders in Adult Female Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: Dimensions of Personality Pathology and Characteristics of Abuse

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052090313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Izdebska
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Sexual Abuse Survivors ◽  
Personality Organization ◽  
The Impact

The relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and later personality disorders (PDs) has been established in numerous studies. However, there are still a number of uncertainties about the specifics of this association. This study further explored the child sexual abuse survivors’ (CSASs) vulnerability to PDs by introducing the variable of personality organization (PO) and dimensions of personality pathology as conceptualized by Kernberg, and by including additional variables of CSA characteristics. It was hypothesized that in the CSA group, the occurrence of borderline personality organization (BPO) would be significantly higher than in the non-CSA group and that characteristics of abuse associated with its higher severity would prevail in individuals with BPO. The study group consisted of 329 women who completed measures of PO and experiences of CSA. The results were consistent with formulated hypotheses. Significantly more CSASs than those who did not experience CSA were characterized by close to BPO (cBPO). Moreover, CSASs group differed from the group without the CSA experience with regard to all BPO dimensions. The biggest difference between the CSA and the control group concerned the dimension referring to the difficulties in creating close, intimate relationships. With regard to CSA features, women characterized by cBPO, in contrast to those characterized by neurotic personality organization (NPO), significantly more often reported having experienced CSA more than once, involving physical contact, from more than one offender and from the offender they previously known. The findings of the study support the idea that the optimal treatment approach for CSASs should address both the personality structure and the specificity of the impact of CSA along with its characteristics.

scholarly journals Identifying and addressing barriers to treatment for child sexual abuse survivors and their non-offending caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 101418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Theimer ◽  
Akemi E. Mii ◽  
Emily Sonnen ◽  
Kelsey McCoy ◽  
Katie Meidlinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Barriers To Treatment ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Sexual Abuse Survivors

In the Aftermath of Sexual Abuse: Making and Remaking Meaning in Narratives of Trauma and Recovery

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary R. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Sense Of Agency ◽  
Ongoing Study ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Abuse Survivors ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
Research Interviews

This paper explores the applicability of a narrative approach to the understanding of psychological trauma and the process of recovery. We focus on a comparison of stories told by three survivors of sexual abuse in research interviews drawn from an ongoing study of recovery and resiliency in treated and untreated trauma survivors. Our aim is to learn how survivors make and remake the meaning of their experiences over the course of their lives and at different stages in their recovery, and to understand the role and functions of survivors’ stories in the recovery process. Replacing long-standing feelings of powerlessness with a new sense of agency and reclaiming a positive identity from a “damaged”self-definition are neither easy nor painless tasks. These accounts suggest the importance of “turning points”that open possibilities for sexual abuse survivors to restory their experiences and arrive at new understandings that support their efforts to confront and deal with past traumas, and move on with their lives. We also call for more attention—by researchers, therapists, and others in survivors’ lives—to the effects of our expectations and needs for coherent stories with positive endings that may make it difficult for us to “hear”what survivors are trying to tell us. (Narrative, Trauma, Sexual abuse)

Resilience to Child Sexual Abuse in Male College Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth G. Graves ◽  
L. DiAnne Borders ◽  
Terry A. Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Mental Health Counselors ◽  
Male Survivors ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Male College ◽  
Effective Counseling ◽  
Self Acceptance

Little is known about men's experiences in the aftermath of child sexual abuse (CSA). Consistent themes from qualitative studies were operationalized and tested for their impact on resilience. For the sample of college-enrolled men (n = 55), the themes of mattering and of traditional male attitudes were not related to resilience, but the theme of gender self-acceptance significantly predicted 23% of the variance in resilience scores. Importantly, the men's perceptions of the CSA events they experienced, whether they described these events as abusive or consensual, were not related to the men's resilience scores. The results indicated that effective counseling approaches to support men's recovery processes differ from those supporting women's recovery. These results suggest that mental health counselors should focus on encouraging male survivors' gender self-acceptance, exploring what it means to be a man in modern society, and examining points of connection with and disconnection from that cultural portrayal.

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