Child Sexual Abuse and Attachment Theory: Are We Rushing Headlong into Another Controversy?

The child sexual abuse knowledge base has developed within a highly charged political and social context. As such, early theories of sexual abuse were susceptible to biases that reflected the larger sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether attachment theory as it is ap...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child sexual abuse 2002, Vol.11 (1), p.95-124
Main Author: Bolen, Rebecca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attachment
Attachment Behavior
Attachment theory
Bias
Child
Child Abuse
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse, Sexual - psychology
Child Sexual Abuse
Concepts
Counseling Theories
Family - psychology
Family Systems Theory
Humans
Object Attachment
Psychological Theories
Sex crimes
Sexual Abuse
Social Bias
Social work
Sociocultural factors
Theoretical Problems
Theory
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Summary:The child sexual abuse knowledge base has developed within a highly charged political and social context. As such, early theories of sexual abuse were susceptible to biases that reflected the larger sociocultural context. The purpose of this paper is to consider whether attachment theory as it is applied to child sexual abuse might also be susceptible to such biases. Although this paper concludes that attachment theory can potentially add an important dimension to the conceptualization of child sexual abuse and its dynamics, it is also suggested that attachment theory may remain at risk for becoming a vehicle for transmitting political and ideological agendas.
ISSN:1053-8712
1547-0679
DOI:10.1300/J070v11n01_05