Sexual abuse of children has profound negative effects on psychological development. This study examined the effects of sexual abuse on object relations functioning by using the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (MAS, Urist, 1977) to score Rorschach protocols of 63 abused children and 60 non-abused clinical controls. The hypothesis that abused children would have less developed object relations than their non-abused counterparts was not supported. Neither was the hypothesis that children who experienced greater severity of sexual abuse would exhibit more malevolent object relations. The hypothesis that mean and modal MAS scores would be highly intercorrelated and interchangeable as research variables was supported. Comparisons of this sample to a normative sample are discussed.

This study examined the relationship between reports of controlling behaviors and education/income in a sample of 297 abused women and 2951 non-abused women in married or cohabitating relationships. This study confirmed that women who reported abuse were more likely to report all five of the controlling behaviors than women who did not report abuse. However, the abuse and non-abuse samples did show similar relationships between the controlling/isolating behaviors and the SES variables. This study found that the higher the respondent's or their partner's education and income, the less likely they were to report controlling/isolating behaviors. Also, the respondent's education and income had the same number of statistically significant relationships with the controlling behaviors as the partner's education and income.

No description available.

No description available.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy as a method of intervention for non-offending parents and their children who have experienced sexual abuse. Filial therapy is a didactic/dynamic approach used by play therapists to train parents to be therapeutic agents with their children. Parents are taught basic child-centered play therapy skills and the utilization of these skills in weekly play sessions with their children. Parents learn to create a special environment which enhances and strengthens the parent-child relationship, thus assisting in personal growth and change for both the parent and child. The purpose of this study was to determine if filial therapy is effective in: (a) increasing the acceptance of non-offending parents of their sexually abused children; (b) reducing the stress level of non-offending parents; (c) improving empathic behaviors of non-offending parents toward their sexually abused child; (d) decreasing the anxiety of sexually abused children; (e) enhancing the self-concept of sexually abused children; (f) decreasing behavior problems of sexually abused children as reported by their non-offending parents; and (g) enhancing the emotional adjustment of sexually abused children.

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and negative mental health outcomes in battered women. Correlations between perceived social support and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder were analyzed. Perceived social support, particularly from family members, was found to be significantly related to mental health outcomes. Results indicate that agencies that work with battered women should include social support in the assessment and intervention processes. The study utilized a quantitative survey design with a sample of 120 battered women from four domestic violence agencies throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Quantitative data analysis procedures, such as multivariate analysis and logistic regression, were used to further examine variables. Samples of the instruments used in the study are included.

Child sexual abuse and its potentially traumatizing consequences, over both the short- and longer term, has been increasingly recognized in the literature as a possible pathway to the development of intra- and interpersonal maladjustment, affecting the mental well-being of those affected. There is a paucity of local research investigating the systemic impact of a child's sexual abuse upon the caregiving and family systems in which the child is integrally embedded. The current research was conducted primarily in response to this, with the intention of illuminating the experiences of caregivers and families managing their child's experience of sexual abuse. More specifically, the research was interested in the experiences and perceptions of caregivers of children who had been sexually abused by an extrafamilial person. The phenomenological approach informed the planning, implementation, analysis and interpretation phases of the research. The sample included six mothers / female caregivers who had discovered their child's sexual abuse no less than three months and no longer than twelve months prior to the research being conducted. Maternal caregivers were the primary source of information regarding their own experiences, as well as spokespersons for the caregiving family unit and its members. Two semistructured interviews were planned for each respondent, the first interview aimed at eliciting their experiences and perceptions, and the second interview aimed primarily at providing debriefing and feedback. In view of the highly sensitive nature of the interview topic, the second interview was structured primarily out of ethical concerns for the respondent's well-being as a consequence of the interviewing. Results of the interviews suggest that these caregivers were faced with a host of complex experiences related to three broad thematic areas, namely: their involvement with the criminal justice system; managing the child's and family's distress; and themes around coping and support. A number of sub-themes were identified within and across these three broad thematic areas, representing a complex interaction between dominant experiences. Caregivers were typically faced with a series of dilemmas and decisions in their interactions with their child, family, and the criminal justice system. Based upon the findings, a number of suggestions have been made in terms of policy and protocol development for intervening with such families and their children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Apr. 13, 2010). Directed by Diane Borders; submitted to the Dept. of Counseling and Educational Development. Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-176).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (DPhil (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted