Examination of previous empirical literature illustrates how researchers have concentrated on documenting the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the later psychological functioning of survivors, through comparisons with those who have not had such a history. Only more recently has there been a focus on assessing the relationship between aspects of the abuse and specific psychological difficulties. This thesis investigated the relationships between CSA characteristics and women’s later psychological adjustment. The role of attributions, coping methods, parenting competency and marital satisfaction were also investigated. Qualitative data on perception of benefit and general reflections of participants were used to explore participants’ self-esteem, locus of control, decisions relating to parenting, disclosure experiences, and attributions in relation to their abuse, including the search for meaning. Recruitment through newspapers and counselling services led to 118 women volunteering to complete a questionnaire evaluating the characteristics of their CSA and their current psychological adjustment. Of this group, 33 subsequently volunteered to participate in a telephone interview that explored in greater depth issues related to the long-term impact of their CSA. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the data. The women reported a high prevalence of dysfunction in their families of origin. Abuse had generally commenced by middle childhood, and lasted for a number of years and often involved a number of perpetrators. Perpetrators were most likely to be intrafamilial, with stepfathers being over-represented. Sexual activities generally involved physical contact, with participation often induced by the use of coercion. Participants demonstrated significant difficulties in psychological adjustment, but attributions regarding the abuse improved over time. Some concerns were expressed regarding parenting competency, and avoidant coping methods were favoured. In general, participants were satisfied with their current marital relationship. Significant associations were found between coping methods, attributional style, beliefs and various psychological adjustment measures. Participants, in general, demonstrated low self-esteem and displayed an external locus of control. As a consequence of their experience of CSA, many participants reported they had decided not to have children. For those who did have children, CSA was almost universally seen as having had an impact on their parenting. Disclosure of CSA was usually delayed for a number of years, with poor outcomes generally resulting from disclosure when it occurred. Women with current partners rated them as very caring and not controlling. Participants were generally still searching for meaning in their abuse, despite many having accepted it. Survivors outlined an extensive range of long-term effects of CSA, and nominated a number of strategies that would assist in reducing these effects. The results of the study indicated that there are a number of characteristics associated with CSA which signal a higher risk of difficulties in psychological adjustment. Concerns of survivors regarding parenting were confirmed according to those who undertook this role. Unfortunately, concerns expressed by survivors that disclosure of their CSA would have had negative consequences was usually the case when they did finally disclose. However, the accessing of social and family support appeared to have an important role in changing the attributions of survivors regarding their CSA. Furthermore, change of attributions in relation to abuse may provide the key to resilience in survivors against the negative impact of CSA on later psychological adjustment.

<p>Because of the many similarities between the life of George Eliot and the lives of Maggie and Tom Tulliver in <em>The Mill on The Floss,</em> Eliot’s novel has been understood as an autobiographical novel. The aim of the essay is to, by using a psychoanalytical perspective, examine if the fictional characters could be said to be engaged in an incestuous relationship even though they do not engage in a sexual relationship. Though their relationship never becomes sexual, there are factors which could support a claim that brother and sister are engaged in an non-sexual incestuous relationship.</p>

Throughout his career, Stephen King has created child protagonists and adults with a childlike acceptance of the world who represent “good.” These children and adults are able to observe and fight evil, especially supernatural evil, on a level that close-minded adults are unable to because of their imagination. At the same, King also has a history of adhering to traditional representations of sex in his work, presenting heteronormative relationships as good and transgressive sexualities as evil. Often, these child protagonists are faced with sexuality as a threatening, evil force. In The Shining, Danny Torrance undergoes a forced sexual awakening that aids him in defeating the Overlook Hotel; in ’Salem’s Lot, Mark Petrie is represented as a virginal hero who helps Ben Mears in defeating vampires, yet suffers as a result; in It, King aligns seven children’s journey to defeat evil with their literal sexual awakenings, but at the cost of his female characters. These novels represent a disconnect between what appear to be King’s purpose in sexual representation and what their message to the reader actually are, which is indicative of the underlying problems of his traditional, black-and-white attitude toward sexuality in his fiction.

While much is known about the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on women in adulthood, little is currently known about their self-care efforts. Given the paucity of research on self-care for survivors, particularly those who are also mothers, and the potential importance of self-care for both themselves and their children, the main goal of the present study was to explore these women’s perceptions and practices of self-care. A grounded theory approach was chosen for this exploration as it provided a sensitive and open-ended methodology which garnered an in-depth understanding of self-care for survivor mothers. The current study combined classic grounded theory (GT) research methods with photovoice methods to explore self-care from the perspective of CSA survivor mothers. Analyses of interview and photograph data from 14 survivor mothers resulted in an original basic social process for understanding how these women care for themselves, feel better, and engage in healing in the context of past violence and trauma. Complex interactive behavioural patterns were identified that recreated a whole self out of damaged fragments; these were conceptualized as “reconstituting a damaged self”. This basic social process was comprised of three main stages, including: emotional de-paining, safetying, and authenticating and returning to self. Several substages within each of these main stages were also identified. Findings were discussed in relation to four theoretical frameworks. Future research directions and clinical implications for this neglected population were suggested. Reconstituting a damaged self can be a long process for sexual abuse survivor mothers involving taking small safe steps, for the most part, on one’s own.

In reviewing the literature on adult survivors of child sexual abuse/incest, it became apparent that one area has remained in its infancy: a systematic method of symptom assessment. Symptoms, both short and long term, have become clinically well documented. An index, the Sexual Abuse Survivors Symptom Index (evaluating absence/presence, frequency, severity, and impact of symptoms upon the survivor), was developed rationally from the literature was administered. A background questionnaire, simplified from one already in use, was also administered to provide information regarding variables that could confound the research.Approximately 130 female adult clinical subjects were approached to determine whether they would participate in the study. Thirty-three subjects agreed to participate. Due to the small sample size, results of the factor analysis cannot be considered reliable. The principal component factor analysis did produce eight factors, which did not converge in the varimax rotation, however, three factors did emerge. The three factors represented an affective component (almost one half of the symptoms), a somatic/sexual component, and an acting out component.The background questionnaire provided some basic support to the variables the literature reported as affecting symptom severity or likelihood for abuse to occur. Areas endorsed as most severe or correlated strongly and moderately to individual symptoms were ones that were directly connected to the abuse(i.e., age of first inappropriate sexual experience, duration of the abuse, multiple abusers, frequency of the abuse, fear of being hurt by the abusers, and overt/contact type of abuse). The variables that influenced the likelihood for abuse to occur, (i.e., substance abuse, strictness, rigid religious traditions, and physical discipline) were endorsed by slightly less than one half of the subjects, but may have had severe impact individually upon each survivor of abuse. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

While much is known about the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on women in adulthood, little is currently known about their self-care efforts. Given the paucity of research on self-care for survivors, particularly those who are also mothers, and the potential importance of self-care for both themselves and their children, the main goal of the present study was to explore these women’s perceptions and practices of self-care. A grounded theory approach was chosen for this exploration as it provided a sensitive and open-ended methodology which garnered an in-depth understanding of self-care for survivor mothers. The current study combined classic grounded theory (GT) research methods with photovoice methods to explore self-care from the perspective of CSA survivor mothers. Analyses of interview and photograph data from 14 survivor mothers resulted in an original basic social process for understanding how these women care for themselves, feel better, and engage in healing in the context of past violence and trauma. Complex interactive behavioural patterns were identified that recreated a whole self out of damaged fragments; these were conceptualized as “reconstituting a damaged self”. This basic social process was comprised of three main stages, including: emotional de-paining, safetying, and authenticating and returning to self. Several substages within each of these main stages were also identified. Findings were discussed in relation to four theoretical frameworks. Future research directions and clinical implications for this neglected population were suggested. Reconstituting a damaged self can be a long process for sexual abuse survivor mothers involving taking small safe steps, for the most part, on one’s own.

Thesis (M.S.W.) - Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-102). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (MSD(Social Work and Criminology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:20:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TatianaGBA.pdf: 640124 bytes, checksum: d978274e023964fe6215cbfedcb0a322 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-30 / This research had as purpose to establish the logic symbolic present in the contemporary society that facilitated the emergency of a public speech on the incest, and, consequently, to demonstrate the ideological nature that structures it. Event associated to the order of the taboo, the incest would be the transgression of the injunction that, second L?vi-Strauss, facilitated the emergency of the Culture while symbolic order, differentiated of the natural order. The injunction of the incest would reveal the elementary and universal structures of the order symbolic presents in the human societies: the demand of the Rule as rule; the reciprocity and the gift, present element in the social changes that it transforms the individuals in partners, increasing a new quality in the transferred value, according to L?vi-Strauss. Starting from this, I developed the hypothesis second which the phenomenon of the alone incest became an event of discursive order and public as right social transformations affected the normative system (social representations, values, moral) regulator of the relationships among the social subjects, being reflected like this, in the own structuring of the Law. A second work hypothesis was developed starting from that. I develop it leaving of the argument that if when inserting the discussion of the thematic of the defense of the children and adolescent rights, being then, considering it while "privileged modality of sexual abuse against children", the present central subjects in the structuring of the social entail would be leaved. Being like this, the partner-institutional speech on the incest would answer the social demands of order and social control, becoming like this, discursive formations of ideological character. This research work tried to follow the hypothesis above referred, demonstrating the singular sense that it will be attributed to the incest in the contemporary society, particularly, its relationship with the Law and the transgression in the contemporary society / Esta pesquisa teve como intuito estabelecer a l?gica simb?lica atuante na sociedade contempor?nea que possibilitou a emerg?ncia de um discurso p?blico sobre o incesto, e, por conseguinte, demonstrar a natureza ideol?gica que o estrutura. Acontecimento associado ? ordem do tabu, o incesto seria a transgress?o do interdito que, segundo L?vi-Strauss, possibilitou o aparecimento da Cultura enquanto ordem simb?lica, diferenciada da ordem natural. O interdito do incesto revelaria as estruturas elementares e universais da ordem simb?lica presentes nas sociedades humanas: a exig?ncia da Regra como regra; a reciprocidade e o dom, elemento presente nas trocas sociais que transforma os indiv?duos em parceiros, acrescentando uma qualidade nova no valor transferido, segundo L?vi-Strauss. A partir disso, desenvolvi a hip?tese segundo a qual o fen?meno do incesto torna-se um acontecimento de ordem discursiva e p?blica ? medida que certas transforma??es sociais afetam o sistema normativo (representa??es sociais, valores, moral) regulador das rela??es entre os sujeitos sociais, refletindo-se assim, na pr?pria estrutura??o da Lei. Uma segunda hip?tese de trabalho foi desenvolvida a partir dessa. Desenvolvo-a partindo do argumento de que se ao inserir a discuss?o sobre o incesto dentro da tem?tica de defesa dos direitos infantojuvenis, considerando-o enquanto uma modalidade privilegiada de abuso sexual contra crian?as, as quest?es centrais presentes na estrutura??o do v?nculo social seriam elididas. Sendo assim, o discurso s?cio-institucional sobre o incesto responderia as demandas sociais de ordem e controle social, tornando-se assim, forma??es discursivas de car?ter ideol?gico. Este trabalho de pesquisa procurou seguir as problematiza??es acima referidas, demonstrando o sentido singular que ser? atribu?do ao incesto na sociedade contempor?nea, particularmente, sua rela??o com a Lei e a transgress?o na sociedade contempor?nea

Esta pesquisa versa sobre o incesto, qual seja, o abuso sexual de crianças e adolescentes que acontece no ambiente familiar. Tem como propósito o aprofundamento reflexivo sobre a escuta aos sujeitos envolvidos na trama incestuosa, tendo em vista o aprimoramento das práticas profissionais na área. Para tanto, empreende um percurso de estudos com referenciais da Psicanálise embasados nas formulações fundadoras de Freud, Ferenczi e Lacan, numa profícua interlocução com comentadores como Piera Aulagnier, Abraham e Torok, Françoise Dolto, entre outros. A trajetória das discussões parte das elaborações teóricas sobre sexualidade infantil e interações parentais, a interdição ao incesto como fundamento da cultura, a dimensão traumática da interação sexual abusiva, perpassa os liames da transmissão psíquica e desdobra-se no enfoque sobre aquele que figura no lugar de autor da agressão sexual. Nesta vertente, a centralidade do debate aborda, num primeiro momento, a perversão como estrutura e a densidade de seus elementos constitutivos, como a recusa à castração, o desafio à lei, a dinâmica sadomasoquista e o mecanismo do desmentido. Num segundo momento, a atenção se volta para a perversão como uma nova modalidade de laço social. A partir daí, o campo de estudo se abre para o entendimento do que tem se configurado como a mais frequente casuística no trabalho com a escuta dessas situações: o sujeito neurótico capturado numa montagem social perversa. A autora, tomando como eixo norteador do presente estudo o material empírico de sua práxis na supervisão ao atendimento da família envolvida na trama incestuosa, tece como considerações finais que o aprimoramento do trabalho de escuta precisa, necessariamente, passar pelo conhecimento das dinâmica psíquicas e sociais que geram e mantém a dinâmica familiar abusiva e que a Psicanálise e o espaço de supervisão são estratégias de excelência na consecução deste objetivo / This study refers to incest, which is, the sexual abuse of children and adolescents that happens in the family environment. Its purpose is a deepening reflection on listening to all people involved in the incestuous plot, in order to improve professional practices in the area. Therefore, it undertakes a course of studies with references of Psychoanalysis based on the founding formulations of Freud, Ferenczi and Lacan, in a successful communication with commentators such as Piera Aulagnier, Abraham and Torok, Françoise Dolto, among others. The trajectory of the discussions starts from a theoretical preparation of the child sexuality and parental interactions, the interdiction on incest as the foundation of culture, the traumatic dimension of abusive sexual interaction, goes beyond the boundaries of psychic transmission and unfolds in the focus of the one who appears in the place of the author of the sexual aggression. In this aspect, the centrality of the debate deals, in a first moment, with perversion as structure and the density of its constitutive elements, such as refusal to castrate, challenge to the law, sadomasochistic dynamics and mechanism of denial. In a second moment, attention turns to perversion as a new mode of social bonding. From then on, the field of study opens up to the understanding of what has been configured as the most frequent casuistry in the work with the listening to these situations: the neurotic individual captured in a perverse social setup. The author, building her studies on the empirical material of her praxis in supervising the care of the incestuous family, makes as her final considerations that improvement on the work of listening must, necessarily, pass through knowledge of psychic and social dynamics which generate and maintain the abusive family dynamics and that the Psychoanalysis and the supervisory space are strategies of excellence in achieving this goal