Studies related to the coping mechanisms of those who experienced child sexual abuse indicate that they are more likely to cope with their trauma by disengaging, avoiding, and withdrawing. Simon, Feiring, & Cleland (2016) identified several different processing strategies survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) use to cope with their trauma. These include the processing strategies of constructivism, absorbance, and avoidance. The constructive processing strategy is the healthy processing strategy that involves engaging, distancing, and reflecting simultaneously on the past, present, and future. It refers to formulating a narrative of the abuse and finding adaptive coping strategies. The absorbed processing strategy refers to ruminating …show more content…
They found that female victims were also more likely to cope by withdrawing and trying to forget about the CSA than the males. They also found a correlation between withdrawing and greater PTSD symptoms among both male and female victims. One of the common symptoms of PTSD is avoiding stimuli that are related to the trauma. Therefore, it makes sense that withdrawing and avoiding are correlated. This study also examined the likelihood that victims disclosed their abuse. Disclosing the abuse could be considered a constructive, non-avoidant coping strategy for dealing with abuse, and disclosing was found to be correlated with less severe PTSD symptoms. About 66% of the victims in this study disclosed their abuse, however the majority of the victims did not disclose their abuse until after the age of 14. Only 19% of participants disclosed their abuse to mandated reporters such as policy, clergy, social workers, and doctors. They found that the longer it took for the female victims to disclose their abuse, the more severe the symptoms of PTSD they …show more content…
For the women who had been revictimized, there was a significant relationship between utilizing the coping strategy of disengagement and psychological distress, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. As mentioned earlier, it may be too overwhelming for survivors of child abuse to cope with their own trauma as well as report another’s trauma (empathy study). The study also examined whether or not stigmatization, worldview, and a sense of powerlessness and betrayal had an effect on the coping strategy used by the participants with a history of CSA and a recent sexual assault. They found that female students who had been revictimized as young adults were more likely to endorse stigma and feel less powerful (Gibson & Leitenberg, 2001). If they endorse stigma and feel less powerful, then they may be less likely to report another’s child abuse because of an internalized sense that they cannot make a
Many counselors attribute their clients' woes to long-buried "repressed" memories of childhood sexual abuse. They help clients to unlock these, and rewrite their pasts. Clients sever all former ties with "families of origin" and surround themselves only with other "survivors", to prevent confirmation or denial.
Obviously, working with survivors of child sexual abuse, neglect, and trauma: The approach taken by the social worker in the Brandon’s case shall begin with “assessment and beginning treatment of the family because child abuse is one of a wide range practice situation in which systems concepts can be applied to help to understand the dynamics involved” in the road for healing and recovery from the physical and psychological effect of the trauma by providing adequate resources available for counseling and therapy due to the devastating impacts of child sexual abuse can be heartbreaking for the victim and the family. However, social worker approach to understanding and responds efficiently by being empathetic to the complex situation as a result; the perpetrator is the father such as in the case of Brandon (Plummer, Makris, & Brocksen, 2014).
Adults abused as children need to confront the abuse they have experienced. To face and admit that they have been abused, adults should no longer live in denial. As children, they were constantly in denial because they did not realize they were being abused by the people they loved and trusted. Denial, a defense tactic, helps children feel safe away from painful, unpleasant memories. Growing up in denial will result adults abused as children avo...
McNally, R. J., Clancy, S. A., Schacter, D. L., & Pitman, R. K. (2000). Cognitive processing of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 109(3), 355-359. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.109.3.355
Lemoncelli, John, and Robert S. Shaw. Healing from Childhood Abuse: Understanding the Effects, Taking Control to Recover. ABC-CLIO,
In a study done by The Journal of Clinical Psychology, “the primary reason for not reporting seemed to combine a type of guilt with embarrassment.” With the help of utilizing support groups, clubs, and other programs among college campuses that are designed to make the victim’s experience a little easier, the victims may not feel as embarrassed to come out and may feel safer in their decision to move forward with their case. One of the most notable effects of rape is the psychological impact that it has on the victim immediately as well as long-term. Many victims feel depression, anxiety, and other sudden onset mental illnesses as a result of their attack and can last for years post-attack. The Journal of Interpersonal Violence reported that in their study of 95 victims over a 12 week long period, “by 3 months post-crime 47% still met the full criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” This prolonged experience of emotional trauma can weaken the person’s overall mental wellbeing and cause the trauma to stick with them for the rest of their lives, especially if there are no support resources around them. As cited in the Journal of Clinical Psychology study previously, the number one reason for not reporting is the feeling of embarrassment which causes the victims to not talk about their experience and to shut out those around
Sexual abuse cannot be clearly defined with ease. In fact, sexual abuse is an umbrella term for any sort of situation, whether or not it involves physical contact, in which a sexually immature child is exposed to anything sexual in nature. Because no child is psychologically mature enough for sexual stimulation, the complex feelings associated with it are mentally and emotionally disfiguring. Children who have been sexually abused experience an array of negative emotions such as shame, guilt and anger, and may display oddly withdrawn or distrustful behaviors. They cannot help but feel that they somehow brought the abuse unto themselves (Saisan, et al). One major contributing factor to these severe psychological consequences is the concept of trust. Sexual abuse is, in most cases, committed by a parent or other trusted adult figure. While children are naïve on such adult topics, they can still get an overwhelming feeling that the attention is wrong, yet they are unsure of how to cope with it. If the child has an emotional atta...
My family and I are continuously healing from my scars on my heart and the damages that were placed upon my spirit. The intervention wasn’t easy to choose from. It took many hours, days and months to regain back my skills to function normally. I needed to learn to live, love and trust as many survivors have had to do. Although I had chosen the medicinal path as part of my therapy course, my family learned how to provide a safe haven for me as well. My therapy was educational for myself and for my husband. We both needed to understand the PTSD in order to move forward with our healing process. Since then, I have been able to reduce my medication with the continuance of therapy and my family being my support system. The healing process is never ending with someone who suffers from PTSD caused by domestic abuse. Like many other survivors of DA and PTSD, I needed to understand what can trigger my episodes and how to handle those moments of vulnerability through therapy. There are many women in the world who are suffering at this very moment from the implications of domestic abuse and PTSD. Gregory C. Scott president & CEO of New Directions for Veterans makes a statement how we need to understand that it is not just veterans who can suffer from acts of violence. He reminds the world that violence can happen to anyone, any race and to any gender. “While there is certainly war happening in foreign lands, we
Counselors practically deal with clients who are the survivors of trauma. Trauma can be termed as a situation in which someone is confronted with an event involving real or threatened death, threat to self or others’ physical well being(American Psychiatric Association,2000). Client traumas commonly encountered in clinical field comprise childhood sexual abuse; physical assault; domestic violence and natural disasters. Sexual harassment is mostly presented clients trauma with estimates indicating that 1 in 10 men and 1 in 6 will encounter sexual abuse in their childhood, it also indicate that 1 in 4 women are victims of sexual assault in lifetime. Client reaction to traumas are naturally sense of helplessness, horror and a lot of fear, thus resulting a person to experience brutal nervousness that was not there prior to the trauma(American Psychiatric Association,2000).
There are several domains that must be considered when treating a survivor of child abuse: the need for safety and trust, sense of belonging, protection from perceived or actual threats, facing the defendant in court, prevention of revictimization, and empowerment (Sawyer & Judd, 2012). Davis, 2005, states that “children terrorized through sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, or wartime atrocities may suffer from lasting wounds, nightmares, depression, and troubled adolescence involving substance abuse, binge eating, or aggression.” Victims of child abuse need to regain their sense of control over their lives. Experiencing healthy relationships, being nurtured by adults and helping them to learn resilience are all interventions that have been well-documented (Sawyer & Judd, 2...
Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,
There are many different types of victims we have discussed over the course of this class, but we’re only going to talk about two types in the following paper. These two types of victims are common just as any another victim across America. These include sex assault victims and child abuse victims, which are both primary victims in cases. The two share a tie together, both are a victim of abuse and can cause lifelong consequences, but they also pose many differences as well. Many questions arise when talking about victims, for example why is a child or adult being abused and what are the life altering affects to these actions. Throughout this paper we discuss both sexual assault victims and child abuse victims and compare and contrast between the two.
Sexual abuse is a very common and prevalent problems in the United States. Approxmately 80,0000 cases of child abuse are reported every year. ("Child sexual abuse," 2011) However, these numbers may not be accurate. Several cases of sexual abuse go unreported. “It is estimated that one in four women are sexually abused during their childhood” ("Definitions, scope, and,"). The actual number of sexually abused males is vastly underreported, but it estimated that possibly “one in six males are sexually abused as children”("Definitions, scope, and," ) . The effects of child abuse are long lasting and can cause problems in the child's adult life. It is very important to understand how to recognize sexual abuse, what steps can be taken to help stop the abuse, and what help is available for the child. (Crosson-Tower, 2013)
2011, p. 56). Among male victims, 16.4% reported at least one post-traumatic stress disorder symptom (p. 57). • Evidence indicates greater mental health consequences for women who are sexually abused by a partner when compared with those who are physically abused only, even after controlling for the severity of physical violence. Impacts include lower self esteem and body image (Campbell 1989); a greater number of mental health problems (Cole, Logan & Shannon 2005); depression and increased levels of depression (Campbell & Soeken 1999; Vogel & Marshall 2001); and more severe post-traumatic stress (Bennice et al. 2003; Temple et al. 2007).
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into