The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of culture on coping with child sexual abuse (CSA). Specifically, I assessed whether the perpetrators’ familial membership (intrafamilial vs extrafamilial) moderated the relations (a) between traditional Latin@ values (familismo, respeto, traditional gender roles, and personalismo) and survivors’ perceived family support effectiveness and (b) between Latin@ values and current trauma interference. I also examined the relationships (a) between trauma resolution and family’s support effectiveness and (b) between trauma resolution and current trauma interference. In total, 83 Latina survivors participated in this online study. Results indicated that the relation between respeto and current trauma interference was moderated by the perpetrators’ familial membership. Survivors who highly valued personalismo, regardless of the perpetrators’ familial membership, reported that the trauma interfered less with their lives. The participants who reported that the trauma interfered more with their lives also reported that the trauma was more resolved. In addition, those who reported greater current trauma interference were more likely to have sought counseling for their CSA, and those who were older tended to feel their trauma was less resolved. Finally, survivors of intrafamilial CSA tended to be younger when the abuse occurred and older at the time of participation in the study. In sum, these findings highlight the complex relationship between culture and coping among Latina survivors of CSA. Findings can contribute to the development of culturally informed services for Latina survivors of CSA by helping counselors and researchers assist Latinas to understand how CSA survivors’ coping efficacy and recovery outcomes are related to their cultural contexts.

M.A. / "Child abuse and neglect is a serious and growing problem. In 1994, the South African Police Service's Child Protection Unit dealt with 22911 cases of child abuse, which represents a 36% increase over the previous year" (Staatskoerant, no. 18166:60). Seksuele mishandeling van kinders is 'n verskynsel wat wereldwyd voorkom en was onlangs in die plaaslike nuus toe 'n vader, wat sy veertienjarige dogter verkrag het, net sewe jaar tronkstraf gekry het omdat - volgens die regter - die samelewing nie teen hom beskerm hoef to word nie (Beeld, 1999/10/07: 11). Die rede wat regter Foxcroft aangevoer het, was dat verkragting binne gesinsverband nie so ernstig is soos verkragting deur 'n vreemdeling nie. Die feit dat 'n kind seksueel deur sy eie ouers mishandel word is egter soveel erger, want, indien 'n kind deur 'n vreemdeling verkrag word, het die kind steeds familielede wat ondersteuning bied. Maar indien die kind deur sy/haar ouers seksueel misbruik word, kan by/sy nerens gaan vir ondersteuning nie. Nog 'n skokkende gebeurtenis wat die voorblaaie van menige plaaslike koerante gehaal het, was die verkragting van 'n nege maande oue baba deur ses mans tussen die ouderdom van 23 en 66 jaar (Beeld, 2001/10/29: 2). Enkele dae later is die verkragting van 'n veertien maande oue baba dogtertjie van Tweeling in die Oos Vrystaat aangemeld. Sy is vermoedelik deur twee mans, onderskeidelik 34 en 37 jaar oud, verkrag (Beeld, 2001/10/31: 2). Ten spyte van die openbare en professionele aandag wat seksuele mishandeling ontvang het, is daar steeds baie min Suid-Afrikaanse navorsing aangaande die fenomeen gedoen (McKendrick en Hoffman, 1991:227-228). Die navorser is van mening dat, indien door inligting ingesamel word aangaande die seksueel mishandelde kind, kan kinders wat 'n risiko loop om deur hul ouers seksueel mishandel te word, vroegtydig geidentifiseer word. In hierdie verhandeling goon daar gefokus word op die seksuele mishandeling van kinders soos dit in akademiese literatuur na yore tree. 'n Klein komponent van die studie behels onderhoude oor hierdie verskynsel wat gevoer is met agt hulpverleners by Johannesburgse kinderhuise en hierdie inligting is gebruik om die mate van kongruensie tussen literatuur en enkele Suid- Afrikaanse empiriese voorbeelde, te bepaal. Die onderhoude is dus gevoer met die doel om, aan die hand van die persepsies van hulpverleners in enkele kinderhuise, te sien in welke mate die Suid Afrikaanse situasie ooreenstem met die literatuur. Met behulp van hierdie inligting hoop die navorser om 'n duideliker beeld daar te stel van kinders wat 'n risiko loop om seksueel mishandel te word en dot die teoretiese gevolgtrekkings wat gemaak is uit die studie, gebruik kan word in opleidingsprogramme vir hulpverleners en moontlik ook as basis vir verdere navorsing. Verder moet dit bydra tot kennis vermeerdering in die veld van Sosiologie. Verder sal dit ook bydra tot sosiologiese teorie en konsepte.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Children react differently to the traumatic incidence of sexual abuse. Some children develop symptomatic behaviours associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in reaction to sexual abuse, such as apathy, which is a form of desensitisation. Others appear less affected by the sexual abuse and may also be regarded as desensitised and possessing resilience. Incongruence thus exists, as the one may be taken incorrectly for the other. Many children enter alternative care settings after being sexually abused, and are cared for by caregivers other than their natural parents. These caregivers interact with the children regularly and their perceptions may provide valuable insight into desensitisation among these children. This study set out to explore caregivers' perceptions on desensitisation among children who had been sexually abused. The study is explorative and descriptive in nature and grounded in a qualitative design. Purposive sampling was used to form three focus groups. The focus group interviews yielded data that was transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. The findings arrived at were written up, presented and discussed. The findings were recommended to be used to inform social workers and other members of the helping professions on how to approach and interact with caregivers of sexually abused children in the future, and to influence perceptions they might hold. Further recommendations were made to better design and implement future studies.

M.A. / Child sexual abuse is a phenomenon that affects children all over the world. Over the past years we have seen an increase in child sexual abuse cases being reported (Richter and Dawes (2008). Parents and professionals are all concerned about children's safety, and the alarming number of cases reported daily makes it an even more difficult and destructive phenomenon to deal with. The South African government have gone to great lengths to put measures in place to protect our children. The new Child Care Act (act 38 of 2005) which came into effect in 2008, acknowledge certain rights of children, sets out principles relating to the care and protection of children, defines parental responsibilities and rights, and it makes provision for matters such as children's courts, adoption, child abduction and surrogate motherhood. There are currently scores of literature on child sexual abuse, but hardly any could be found that specifically relate to the non-abusive mothers and their experiences. The aims of the current study are: 1) to explore the lived experiences of non-abusive mothers whose children have been sexually abused by their intimate male partners, and 2) to add to the discourse of sexual abuse within the South African context. It is imperative to understand the experiences of non-abusive mothers, as this will provide new insights into our understanding of a phenomenon like child sexual abuse. The investigation elicited some of the common themes, thoughts and feelings, which describe the experiences that non-abusive mothers share. In order to conceptualise the experiences of non-abusive mothers, this study drew upon an existential phenomenological framework. This framework is useful, as it allows for mothers' own subjective experiences, and their own interpretations and understanding of these experiences to come to the fore, as opposed to the researcher's understanding of the non-abusive mothers' experiences. Non-abusive mothers seem to go through a similar process as those who grief the loss of a loved one, or who has experienced some kind of loss in their lives. This study elicited some of the themes that correspond with this process of grief. The experience for each of the mothers has been different; however there are commonalities in the way in which they describe their experiences. It would seem that non-abusive mothers experience an intense and overwhelming sense of loss, anger, disbelief, blame, shock, guilt, and depression.

M.A. / “Child abuse and neglect is a serious and growing problem. In 1994, the South African Police Service’s Child Protection Unit dealt with 22911 cases of child abuse, which represents a 36% increase over the previous year” (Staatskoerant, no. 18166:60). / Prof. A. Senekal Dr. E. Oliphant

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between adult interpersonal functioning of women, currently in therapy wherein they were addressing unresolved issues about their childhood maltreatment, and childhood experiences referring to a developmental psychopathology framework. One hundred and twenty women (30 sexual abuse, 30 physical abuse, 30 family disruption, and 30 control) were individually presented with a series of audiotapes of three interpersonal situations (conflictual, neutral, dating), and asked to record their self-report of physiological response, self- and other-perceptions and coping responses. Physiological indices (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) were also recorded, as well as self-report of childhood coping strategies. The data were examined as to whether abuse survivors in therapy addressing their childhood experiences have more interpersonal problems than non-clinical control subjects or than individuals having other types of traumatic backgrounds and whether any noted interpersonal difficulties are specific to the type of abuse, or general in nature. Results indicated that abusive experiences are related to greater dysfunction in regards to self- and other-perceptions than exposure to disruptive/chaotic family environments alone. However, the differences appear to be variable-specific and few differences were obtained on physiological and coping variables. Some specific problems in adult interpersonal functioning were evidenced between the sexual and physical abuse groups. Specifically, in comparison to the physical abuse survivors, sexual abuse survivors reported greater use of different, and perhaps less adaptive, coping strategies in neutral situations. No other dependent variables significantly differed between the two groups. The results were discussed in terms of theoretical and empirical issues related to abuse-specific outcomes, the specific methodology employed in this study, and directions for future research. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Childhood incest and sexual abuse was explored in depth to determine the coping skills used by victims, based upon their descriptive recall of these events. Eighteen adult women, who were group therapy members and leaders, were interviewed about their experiences as sexually abused children and adolescents. The critical incident technique was used to identify what hindered or facilitated the victims coping in the eighty-one abuse experiences collected. Each incident was categorized according to the identifiable stress, and the type of coping method used. Three categories of identifiable stress emerged from the data which were labelled offenders, significant others, and victims. Of these, the largest number of incidents related to stress created by offenders. In this sample, victims utilized direct action, inhibition of action, and intrapsychic coping methods, but not information seeking. Of these, direct action was most frequently employed. Independent judges found these categories reliable. Results are examined according to theoretical frameworks in coping theory and current perspectives on sexual abuse. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / In this thesis, the researcher explored the life stories of male perpetrators of child sexual offences. It is argued that this is an area that needs to be addressed because sexual abuse of children has become a global problem, and South Africa is no exception. As in other parts of the world, in South Africa, sexual abuse of children is under reported.It is estimated that only fifteen percent of rapes are reported, and in addition to this only about one in twenty rapes is reported to the police. Sexual abuse has become a great concern to social workers and health practitioners because of the harmful consequences for victims.This study aimed to undertake an exploratory study on sex offenders’ subjective reflections (constructions) of their involvement in the sexual molestation of children. Narratology or narrative analysis enabled the researcher to find out how the offenders portray their sexual engagement with children.The researcher followed the qualitative research approach, utilizing the autobiographical method of inquiry. Data collection was by means of narratives /story-telling. The researcher made use of purposive sampling in the selection of seven participants for the individual interviews and thirty for the focus group interviews. The participants were perpetrators of sexual abuse against children, participating in a community-based program in the Western Cape. Personal interviews were conducted because of the sensitive nature of the information sought.Data was analysed according to an adapted five-step process as proposed by Terreblanche and Durrheim (2006). Data was verified by using the peer review; rich,thick descriptions; external audits; and clarifying research bias, as suggested by Creswell (1998: 197-204).The findings revealed that the offenders’ stories unfolded chronologically, starting from their early childhood. They shared their family life experiences and happenings during their growth to adulthood. The various factors, which exposed and influenced them on the path to becoming adult child sexual offenders were explored.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Child sexual abuse is a well-documented social crime that influences every aspect of the survivor and their family's lives. The parents are then confronted with a child that presents behavior that may include scholastic challenges, antisocial behaviour, sexual explorative behaviour as well as adult mannerisms. In addition, parents are then 'expected' to cope with their own feelings of guilt in relation to their child's affected behaviour. The aim of the study was to explore parental coping with childcare post the disclosure of child sexual abuse. This study used a qualitative methodological framework. A group of twelve (12) heterogeneous parents were purposively sampled from Childline case registers. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the parents, using an interview schedule and a voice recorder. The parents' interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated and verified with the parents. The data was analysed using thematic analysis in order to explore parents' experiences. The findings of the study reveal the participants' emotional responses to the disclosure of child sexual abuse, parental coping post the disclosure of CSA and available resources. These themes highlight the experiences of the parents who care for children post the disclosure of child sexual abuse. The study discusses the needs and challenges of the parents, and offers recommendations regarding provisions that can be made for these parents.

Includes bibliographical references / False child sexual abuse allegations in divorce and custody proceedings are a disconcerting problem in South Africa having devastating effects on the family unit going through a divorce, and on society as a whole. Limited research has been done in South Africa on the subject matter (Janse Van Rensburg, 2008; McDonald, 1998; Preller, 2014).This study utilize General System's Theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Crisis Theory to explore the subject matter. An explorative qualitative approach with a constructivist epistemology was utilised. The participants in this study involved thirty key informants, who included social workers, psychologists, counsellors and other professionals who specialise in divorce, custody and sexual abuse matters. A further five falsely accused parents and five accusing parents formed part of the sample. The data collection method used was that of in-depth interviews and research assistants were trained and appointed to gather the information. Notes were taken and the interviews were recorded to enable the necessary data analysis. Content and thematic data analyses were used to analyse the data and obtain the necessary results. The research findings indicate that false child sexual abuse allegations have a detrimental effect on the accused parent and explain the agony, severe trauma and emotional distress the falsely accused parent go through. There are various factors contributing towards false child sexual abuse allegations and results show that the impact of such allegations is11detrimental to the family system, the child and the falsely accused parent and brings disequilibrium to the family system that is very difficult to restore post-divorce. The mental health perspective on false child sexual abuse paints a rather bleak picture of the legal and social system and on adequately addressing the social issues at hand. Results highlight that false allegations are a complicated phenomenon and not all professionals nor the courts have the necessary skills to deal adequately with these matters. Research recommends amendments to South African Policy and Legislation, changes to the South African court system, and capacity building of mental health professionals. As this research is a ground-breaking study in South Africa, as no scientific research has been published on the subject matter, this study should be used as a basis for future research studies.