Adult coping with childhood sexual abuse: A theoretical and empirical review

Abstract Coping has been suggested as an important element in understanding the long-term functioning of individuals with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). The present review synthesizes the literature on coping with CSA, first by examining theories of coping with trauma, and, second by examini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aggression and violent behavior 2010-01, Vol.15 (1), p.1-13
Main Authors: Walsh, Kate, Fortier, Michelle A, DiLillo, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult female victims
Adults
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child abuse & neglect
Childhood
Childhood sexual abuse
Childhood trauma
Coping strategies
Empirical research
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Learning. Memory
Long term effects
Medical sciences
Methodology
Methods of coping
Psychiatry
Psychological aspects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Research trends
Sex crimes
Sexual abuse
Survival strategy
Theories
Trauma
Victimology
Victims of crime
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Summary:Abstract Coping has been suggested as an important element in understanding the long-term functioning of individuals with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA). The present review synthesizes the literature on coping with CSA, first by examining theories of coping with trauma, and, second by examining how these theories have been applied to studies of coping in samples of CSA victims. Thirty-nine studies were reviewed, including eleven descriptive studies of the coping strategies employed by individuals with a history of CSA, eighteen correlational studies of the relationship between coping strategies and long-term functioning of CSA victims, and ten investigations in which coping was examined as a mediational factor in relation to long-term outcomes. These studies provide initial information regarding early sexual abuse and subsequent coping processes. However, this literature is limited by several theoretical and methodological issues, including a failure to specify the process of coping as it occurs, a disparity between theory and research, and limited applicability to clinical practice. Future directions of research are discussed and include the need to understand coping as a process, identification of coping in relation to adaptive outcomes, and considerations of more complex mediational and moderational processes in the study of coping with CSA.
ISSN:1359-1789
1873-6335
DOI:10.1016/j.avb.2009.06.009