Dealing with the Aftermath of Child Sexual Abuse: A Reflection on Three Case Examples

This paper is based upon three stories which were told by respondents in a study of how survivors, mothers of survivors and teachers of survivors cope in the aftermath of child sexual abuse. These stories relate to interactions in the school or workplace and are discussed within the broader context of existing stereotypes and assumptions about abuse. The paper argues that assumptions about abuse can affect outcomes and can cause distress to others who become involved in dealing with it.     

Into the Fire: Using Therapeutic Enactments to Bridge Early Traumatic Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse

While traditional forms of therapy focus heavily on a survivor's ability to tell his or her story, the very nature of traumatic memory can present a challenge since survivors of trauma often struggle to find the verbal language to describe the terrifying events that have occurred. In verbal therapies, survivors of childhood sexual abuse can be left in a state of re-experiencing the past as they face the overwhelming task of trying to find words for something that is often wordless. Researchers have identified the need to “bridge” the non-verbal and the verbal in trauma therapy. The purpose of this research is to examine the lived experience of using therapeutic enactment as a tool to address the fragmented and wordless memories of childhood sexual abuse. Using a case study research design, four women shared their stories of participating in a therapeutic enactment to address memories of their abuse. From these stories, four dominant themes emerged. These themes (re-connection to self and others, reclaiming voice, empowerment, and corrective re-experiencing) indicate an overall positive and reparative experience.     

Philosophically correct science stories? Examining the implications of heroic science stories for school science

Some people think that science is a set of facts that can be presented in plain and unadorned language. This fosters a belief that science has few stories. Actually, stories are very important in school science. In an examination of science textbooks, I have identified four different types of science stories which I call (a) heroic, (b) discovery, (c) declarative, and (d) politically correct. Each of these types of story promotes a particular set of philosophical assumptions about science. These assumptions are presented implicitly within the framework of the story as truths of science. This article specifically examines the philosophical assumptions that underpin heroic science stories and the implications of these stories in the discursive practices of the school science classroom. As teachers, we need to be critically aware of these assumptions, since they may be at odds with our beliefs about knowledge and our preferred teaching practices. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 175–187, 1998.     

The gendering of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie in children’s biographies: some tensions

Few twentieth century scientists have generated as much interest as Albert Einstein and Marie Currie. Their lives are centrally depicted in numerous children’s biographies of famous scientists. Yet their stories reflect interesting paradoxes and tacit sets of unexplored sociocultural assumptions about gender in science education and the larger society. Trevor Owens’ analysis of common Einstein and Currie biographies for children provides a context for us to consider a deeper reading of these scientists’ stories in ways that can be both empowering and liberating. In the process, we consider some interesting tensions surrounding the gendered nature of their stories.     

Barriers and facilitators affecting self-disclosure among male survivors of child sexual abuse: The service providers’ perspective

Research regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) indicates significant gender differences in disclosure rates, with males less likely to disclose their abuse compared to females. CSA can have lasting impact on a children’s emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing. While service providers play an instrumental role in providing care and support for male CSA survivors, little is known about their perceptions and experiences related to disclosure among these men. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore service providers’ perceptions and awareness of disclosure-related barriers and facilitators amongst male CSA survivors. Individual interviews were conducted with eleven service providers. Study findings reveal four key themes related to the disclosure process among male CSA survivors: (a) personal characteristics, (b) interpersonal relations, (c) institutional elements, and (d) societal norms. Findings indicate that service providers understand and respond to complex challenges associated with disclosure of CSA among this marginalized population. Study findings demonstrate the need for additional research on the specific issues of gender bias and stigma associated with male sexual abuse. Along with their empirical significance, these findings can be used to develop more tailored public health and social service-related programming for male CSA survivors, their families, and the broader community to promote a safer and more supportive environment in which to discuss these sensitive and important issues. Recommendations to service providers are discussed.     

Group treatments for women sexually abused as children: a review of the literature and recommendations for future outcome research

OBJECTIVE: Adults with a history of sexual abuse often suffer many long-term consequences. It is important that therapists be able to provide effective treatment to address the host of issues that are presented in therapy by adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). In order to provide the best possible treatment, therapists should know which treatments are most effective. METHOD: This paper provides a critique of the outcome research of 13 studies (six uncontrolled and seven controlled) on the treatment of adults who suffered childhood sexual abuse and discusses specific methodological strategies that can enhance the quality of such research in the future. RESULTS: Although many of the studies contain methodological limitations, the results generally indicate that group treatment helps reduce symptomatology in the short-term and at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Although outcome research has not been published on specific individual or conjoint treatment approaches for adult survivors of CSA, several outcome studies have found group treatment to be effective in the recovery of female CSA survivors.     

The idealization of women: its role in the minimization of child sexual abuse by females

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to review the literature on female perpetrated child sexual abuse by highlighting how cultural myths about women inhibit recognition of this much hidden phenomenon. METHOD: Three sections are presented. Part 1 evaluates evidence concerning beliefs about child sexual abuse by women which minimize the problem. Part 2 provides a theoretical account of psychological processes that are hypothesized to maintain these beliefs. Part 3 illustrates that professionals working in the area of child sexual abuse are not immune to these processes. As a result, recommendations for future professional practices are made. RESULT: The paper demonstrates that in the context of what is known about child sexual abuse, cultural beliefs which serve to idealize women and minimize their potential harm to children are largely invalid. CONCLUSION: Individuals are urged to suspend their disbelief about female perpetrated child sexual abuse. Denial of the phenomenon may result in it continuing to be under-reported and trivialized. As this persists the price will ultimately be paid by victims of on-going abuse and survivors of past victimization whose suffering will be compounded by disparagement of the issue.     

Examining the relationship between higher educational attainment,trauma symptoms,and internalizing behaviors in child sexual abuse survivors

The trauma symptoms of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors don’t end with the abuse, or even with the advent of adulthood. Instead, these symptoms can persist into all the realms of a survivor’s life, including education, which sets the foundation for career advancement. This retrospective study of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (n = 260) examined the relationships between trauma symptoms, dissociation, dissociative amnesia, anxiety, depression, sleep problems and higher education attainment. The purpose of this study was to determine if these factors are associated with higher education completion for childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. Linear regressions and ANOVAs suggest that many of these variables are significantly associated with survivors’ educational trajectory, and multiple linear regressions show that trauma symptoms (as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40), caregivers’ education levels, and age at onset of abuse are significant predictors of decreased education levels. This information can provide insight into additional risk and protective factors for CSA survivors in order to enhance acute and long-term management of trauma symptoms to increase levels ofattainment of higher education.     

Therapeutic interventions with child survivors of sibling sexual abuse: The professionals’ perspective

BackgroundSibling sexual abuse (SSA) is a continuum of childhood sexual behaviors that do not fit age-appropriate curiosity. SSA may be the most prevalent, longest lasting form of intrafamilial sexual abuse – and the least reported, studied and treated.ObjectiveThis exploratory qualitative study examined the experience of intervention with SSA survivors from the perspective of mental health professionals, and explored their major therapeutic challenges.Participants and settingThe sample consisted of 20 Jewish Israeli mental health professionals working in private clinics or public social welfare services who had experience with SSA.MethodsSemi-structured interviews focusing on the characteristics of SSA events, perceptions about the effects of abuse, intervention priorities and therapeutic challenges compared to other types of child abuse.ResultsProfessionals working with SSA survivors are preoccupied with the need to provide them with physical and emotional protection, as well as to help them process the abuse narrative. They also find themselves dealing with survivors who do not experience themselves as victims despite external evidence of abuse, or with the need to reconcile their perception of the sexual relationship as mutual, as opposed to the formal requirement to differentiate between “offender” and “victim”. In either case, the reality of these survivors can be just as painful as in other SSA cases.ConclusionsThe complexity of SSA calls for unique intervention skills, including working with survivor narratives that do not fit the victim/offender dichotomy on one hand and that do not minimize the potentially harsh consequences of SSA on the other.     

Re/presenting a gender equity project: Contrasting visions and versions

This article provides three different accounts of a gender-equity project in a Grade 10 science class. The three stories, a realist one of victory over oppression, a realist story of inclusion, and a reflexive story of identity, illustrate different rhetorical forms for representing research and different assumptions about gender, pedagogy, equity, and the representation of data. Any version of a project can only be a partial account. As teachers and researchers, our commitments and investments influence our questions, understandings, and representations. The content and form of our stories imply particular relationships with an audience. Those responsible for policy tend to favor realist stories that reduce complexity and increase certainty. Others may be more interested in stories that portray complexity and highlight the need for judgments in particular contexts. No one form is appropriate for all occasions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 859–876, 1998.     

Child abuse: Betrayal and disclosure

ObjectiveThe current study tested several hypotheses about disclosure of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse derived from Betrayal Trauma Theory [Freyd, J. J. (1996). Betrayal trauma: The logic of forgetting childhood abuse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press]. We predicted that the duration of time from abuse to its disclosure would vary as a function of victim–perpetrator closeness.MethodsData collected from 202 undergraduate participants using a survey methodology were submitted to logistic regression analyses. The relative variance explained by other variables was also examined.ResultsCompared to survivors of emotional abuse (EA) who were in not very close (NVC) victim–perpetrator relationships, EA survivors in very close (VC) victim–perpetrator relationships were significantly more likely to wait 1 or more years to disclose, or never to disclose, than to wait a period of time less than 1 year (OR = 2.65). Further, survivors of physical abuse (PA) in VC victim–perpetrator relationships were significantly more likely to wait 1 or more years to disclose their abuse, if it was disclosed at all, than PA survivors of NVC victim–perpetrator relationships (OR = 3.99). Results for sexual abuse were not significant.ConclusionsFor EA and PA, VC victim–perpetrator relationships predicted longer durations of time from abuse to its disclosure than NVC victim–perpetrator relationships.Practice implicationsAlthough delayed disclosure may support necessary (albeit abusive) attachments with caregivers, it may also prolong the abuse and prevent receipt of support. Increased awareness that VC victim–perpetrator relationships may predict longer durations of time from abuse to its disclosure, and that these delays may serve a functional purpose, can help guide supportive and empathic responses to traumatic disclosures.     

REMEMBERING TELEVISED NEWS:EFFECTS OF VISUAL FORMAT ON INFORMATION GAIN

Nine television news stories were presented to 60 college students under three different visual format treatment conditions: newscaster‐only presentation, newscaster‐plus‐film or newscaster‐plus‐stills. Detailed information gain from the news stories was tested using a 27‐item multiple‐choice questionnaire which was administered immediately after viewing. It was found that overall learning was slightly, though not significantly, poorer from stories accompanied by picture materials than from those presented by the newscaster alone. It is suggested that news editors assumptions about the effects of pictorial material upon news impact may be only partially correct.     

Adult reports of child and adult attributions of blame for childhood sexual abuse: predicting adult adjustment and suicidal behaviors in females.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether reports made by adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse about attributions of blame made during childhood and adulthood are predictive of overall adulthood symptomatology and presence of suicide attempts. METHODOLOGY: 126 female survivors of childhood sexual abuse completed anonymous survey packages which included a modified version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire, the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40, and questions regarding demographics and abuse characteristics. RESULTS: The study revealed that participants reporting abuse by an immediate family member and abuse before 10 years of age tended to report having made internal attributions of blame when they were children. In addition, reports of internal attributions of blame made during childhood were significantly predictive of overall adulthood symptomatology, as well as presence of suicide attempts. Reported adulthood attributions did not contribute to prediction. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical implications of further evidence of the link between attributions and outcome following childhood sexual abuse including the need for identification and intervention to address internal attributions made during childhood are discussed.     

Seeing Life in their Shoes: Fostering Empathy Toward Victims of Interpersonal Violence through Five Active Learning Activities

As educators of future law enforcement and social service personnel, one of the most important objectives of faculty members within the social sciences disciplines is to foster a sense of empathy toward victims of crime among their students. Empathy toward victims of crime, and domestic abuse in particular, is vastly important as evidence suggests that the reactions survivors encounter upon disclosure influences reporting behavior to law enforcement. Moreover, evidence indicates that by fostering empathy toward domestic abuse survivors among students, social science educators can reduce the endorsement of harmful victim-blaming attitudes that these individuals may otherwise carry with them into their public service. However, despite the importance concerning teaching empathy within the classroom, a dearth of information exists—particularly in the criminal justice pedagogical literature. To address this gap, the objective of this study was to assess several active learning activities designed specifically to foster victim empathy in students. To gather feedback about how these activities affected students, we utilized standard Likert scales as well as several free response questions.     

Emotional support and adult depression in survivors of childhood sexual abuse

The goals of this study were to evaluate the effects of emotional support from friends and parents at two time points (adolescence and adulthood) on adult depression in a nationally representative sample of survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and examine whether the associations were moderated by the identity of the perpetrator (parent/caregiver vs. not). Data were taken from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The study sample included 1,238 Add Health participants with a history of CSA and an equivalently sized comparison group of individuals with no history of CSA. Parental support was measured using four items from each wave that assessed the warmth of participants’ relationships with their parents and their satisfaction with those relationships. Friend support in adolescence was measured using participants’ perceptions of how much their friends cared about them and in adulthood using participants’ self-reported number of close friends. Depression was measured using a 10-item subscale of the CES-D. Logistic regressions showed that support from friends and parents in adulthood were significantly associated with lower odds of adult depression in CSA survivors who reported non-parent/caregiver abuse. Among survivors of parent/caregiver abuse, emotional support was not significantly associated with adult depression regardless of when or by whom it was provided. In conclusion, emotional support in adulthood from friends and parents is associated with reduced odds of adult depression in CSA survivors, but only in cases where the abuse was perpetrated by someone other than a parent or caregiver.     

Institutional abuse of children in the Austrian Catholic Church: Types of abuse and impact on adult survivors’ current mental health

The aim of this study was to explore the nature and dimensions of institutional child abuse (IA) by the Austrian Catholic Church and to investigate the current mental health of adult survivors. Data were collected in two steps. First, documents of 448 adult survivors of IA (M = 55.1 years, 75.7% men) who had disclosed their abuse history to a victim protection commission were collected. Different types of abuse, perpetrator characteristics, and family related risk factors were investigated. Second, a sample of 185 adult survivors completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-C) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Participants reported an enormous diversity of acts of violent physical, sexual, and emotional abuse that had occurred in their childhood. The majority of adult survivors (83.3%) experienced emotional abuse. Rates of sexual (68.8%) and physical abuse (68.3%) were almost equally high. The prevalence of PTSD was 48.6% and 84.9% showed clinically relevant symptoms in at least one 1 of 10 symptom dimensions (9 BSI subscales and PTSD). No specific pre-IA influence was found to influence the development of PTSD in later life (e.g. poverty, domestic violence). However, survivors with PTSD reported a significantly higher total number of family related risk factors (d = 0.33). We conclude that childhood IA includes a wide spectrum of violent acts, and has a massive negative impact on the current mental health of adult survivors. We address the long-term effects of these traumatic experiences in addition to trauma re-activation in adulthood as both bear great challenges for professionals working with survivors.     

Tempered radicals: elementary teachers’ narratives of teaching science within and against prevailing meanings of schooling

Science educators and researchers have bemoaned the lack of reform-based science in elementary schools and focused on teachers’ difficulties (i.e., lack of knowledge, interest, experience) in enacting quality science pedagogy. We present compelling evidence that challenges assumptions about science education reform and draw on a practice theory perspective to examine the stories, commitments and identities of thirteen teachers, whose beliefs and practices aligned with those promoted by science education reform documents. Through ethnographic interviews, we learned about these teachers’ critical science experiences, perceived science teacher identities, and their goals and commitments. Their stories highlight institutional and sociohistorical difficulties of enacting reform-based science, the many biases, contradictions, and unintended consequences prevalent in educational policy and practice today, and emphasize how easily the status quo can get reproduced. These teachers had to work as ‘tempered radicals’, ‘working the system’ to teach in ways that were consistent with reform-based science.     

From Psychoprophylactic to Orgasmic Birth

The assumptions on which educators based childbirth education principles were valid when psychoprophylactic birth became available. Yet, educators and health-care providers have changed their assumptions about birth as they have learned more from the midwifery model of care, how women want to give birth, and how capable the body is to give birth. Educators'' teaching must now emphasize the synchrony of hormones that facilitates birth, the Sphincter Law, and the sharing of woman-to-woman stories throughout the generations if birth is to be set in its rightful place—in the hands of the mothers.     

Jewish Day School Wounds and What We Can Do About Them

This article is based upon a qualitative research study that examined 95 school stories written by Jewish female teacher candidates in an undergraduate education course. Many candidates wrote inspirational or humorous stories about growth and development or a special teacher. However, over one third of the narratives described painful Jewish day schooling episodes with insensitive teachers, stinging rebukes, or public shaming. The findings argue for the enhancement of Jewish educator preparation with attention to professionalization of classroom management and interrogation of assumptions from schooling biographies. This study challenges teacher educators in the liminal space of educator preparation as teacher candidates shift from personal lived schooling experience into professional practice.     

The impacts of institutional child sexual abuse: A rapid review of the evidence

While awareness of institutional child sexual abuse has grown in recent years, there remains limited understanding of its occurrence and outcomes as a distinct form of abuse. Drawing on research commissioned by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, this article presents a rapid review of available evidence on the impacts of institutional abuse on victim/survivors. Literature searches identified 75 sources spanning international peer reviewed work and reports to Government that document or quantify the impacts of mostly historical child sexual abuse occurring in religious, educational, sporting and residential or out-of-home care settings. Consistent with child sexual abuse in other contexts, institutional child sexual abuse is found to be associated with numerous, pervasive and connected impacts upon the psychological, physical, social, educative and economic wellbeing of victims/survivors. Further, institutional child sexual abuse is associated with vicarious trauma at the individual, family and community level, and with impacts to the spiritual wellbeing of victims/survivors of abuse that occurs in religious settings. The identified literature suggests the trauma of institutional child sexual abuse may be exacerbated by the interplay of abuse dynamics in institutional settings, which may reduce or impede circumstances supporting disclosure, belief, support and protection from future harm. Acknowledging the limitations of the present study and the available evidence, this narrative synthesis provides insights into the complex impacts of institutional child sexual abuse.