Narrative fragmentation in child sexual abuse: The role of age and post-traumatic stress disorder |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departments of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada;2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada;3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA;4. Department of Asian and Policy Studies, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong |
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| Abstract: | The present study aimed to assess the effects of age and PTSD on the narrative fragmentation in memories for child sexual abuse. Lexical complexity, cohesion and coherence were analyzed within a group of 86 allegations of children (M = 10 years; SD = 3.7; range: 4–17) who were victims of sexual abuse. Results illustrated that age played an important role in establishing narrative coherence and predicted the level of orientation, the sequence of events and the level of evaluation of the event. Instead, PTSD was related to narrative coherence and cohesion. Therefore, in children, the narrative fragmentation could be an effective diagnostic tool for understanding the effects of PTSD. Moreover in a legal setting the traumatic effects of PTSD on the narrative coherence and cohesion could be significant indices in the evaluation of child testimony. |
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| Keywords: | Fragmentation Child sexual abuse Age Post-traumatic stress disorder Disclosure |
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