The purpose of this study was to examine the role childhood sexual abuse (CSA), social support and a person's worldview (i.e., optimistic or pessimistic attitudes) had on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Statistics for sexually abused children are high. When children do not receive therapy, they may develop marital problems later in life. Survivors of sexual abused have difficulty letting other people come close to them. Because emotional and sexual intimacy is important components of a marital relationship, survivors of sexual abused experience conflict within their marriages. Intimacy in the marital relationship reminds them of the abuse situation and they would try to escape from it. If couples do not go through therapeutic intervention, they would have difficulty understanding the changes in their relationship after the marriage. Within a therapeutic environment partners are able to recognise the effects of abuse and are able to learn how to handle it in order to achieve a successful marriage. The changes in intimacy levels after marriage will be investigated in this study. The study will make recommendations towards professional principles for social workers in practice. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Sciences)

Statistics for sexually abused children are high. When children do not receive therapy, they may develop marital problems later in life. Survivors of sexual abused have difficulty letting other people come close to them. Because emotional and sexual intimacy is important components of a marital relationship, survivors of sexual abused experience conflict within their marriages. Intimacy in the marital relationship reminds them of the abuse situation and they would try to escape from it. If couples do not go through therapeutic intervention, they would have difficulty understanding the changes in their relationship after the marriage. Within a therapeutic environment partners are able to recognise the effects of abuse and are able to learn how to handle it in order to achieve a successful marriage. The changes in intimacy levels after marriage will be investigated in this study. The study will make recommendations towards professional principles for social workers in practice. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Sciences)

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent, pattern and forms of child sexual abuse amongst university students / to investigate the degree of sexual coercion / to examine victim-perpetrator relationships / to determine the extent to which students are bothered by the event at the time of completing the Early Sexual Experiences Checklist / to establish the age of the student at the time the event occurred and also the age of the other person involved when the event occurred / and to determine the frequency of the coercive event.

Childhood abuse, whether physical or sexual, is a major public health issue. The most recent United States data from Child Protective Services (CPS) show that in 2013 there were 3.5 million referrals of child maltreatment involving 6.4 million children. Out of these cases, 18% were for physical abuse and 9% were for sexual abuse. However, researchers argue that CPS data grossly underestimate the prevalence of childhood abuse as most childhood abuse goes unreported. Indeed, to date, the true prevalence of childhood abuse remains unknown as research has been hampered by inconsistent definitions of abuse and wide variation in methodologies including measures for its identification and modes of administration of these measures. Although a health care visit presents an opportunity to identify a childhood abuse history, health care providers frequently fail to ask about it. The reasons doctors give for not asking about abuse include lack of training, not knowing how to ask, and lack of familiarity with practical methods for screening that can be used in primary care settings. There is little to no research on effective means for identifying childhood abuse histories, especially in the adolescent and young adult population, or on how different modes of administration of screens to identify childhood abuse compare to each other. The net result is that most childhood physical and sexual abuse is never identified and many victims do not get the needed services to help them heal. When unaddressed, childhood abuse has negative impacts on victims’ health and wellbeing over the life course. Prior studies of adults show that when compared with non-victims of abuse, victims tend to perceive their health as poorer and utilize more health care services including emergency room and urgent outpatient care. These studies also suggest that adult victims use less routine and preventive care than non-victims. Only two studies, conducted among widely different adolescent populations, have examined how adolescent victims perceive their health. Similarly, limited evidence examining perception of health is available for young adults. These studies found that victims perceive their health as poorer than non-victims. There have been no adolescent-specific studies of how victimization impacts adolescents’ utilization of health care. One study includes participants ages 15 to 98 years and only two studies focusing on this issue in samples primarily of young adults attending college have been published. These studies found that victims utilize more health care than non-victims. Therefore, we lack a sufficient body of evidence to come to clear conclusions of how childhood abuse affects self-perceived health in adolescents and young adults. The general lack of evidence about both how childhood abuse impacts perception of health and utilization of health care in adolescents and young adults indicates a need for further study. Given that little is known about how to best identify an abuse history in adolescents and young adults and the impact of abuse on perception of health and utilization of health care, this dissertation pursued three aims: (1) to review the literature comparing modes of administration of screens to identify adolescent and young adult victims of childhood physical and sexual abuse; (2) to investigate how different modes of administration of screens to identify adolescent and young adult victims of childhood physical abuse within a primary care health setting compare to each other, and; (3) to examine the association of a history of childhood abuse (defined as none, physical only, and sexual with or without physical) with perceived health status and the health care utilization patterns among adolescents and young adults. For aim 1, a comprehensive literature review was conducted via PubMed of studies, published between January 1st, 1994 and December 31st, 2014 that compared modes of administration of screens to identify a history of childhood physical and sexual abuse in adolescents and young adults. Only one study was found. This study compared paper and pencil questionnaire, computer assisted survey, and face to face structured interview in the identification of childhood physical and sexual abuse among young adults in a college setting. No significant difference in the proportion of childhood physical abuse or childhood sexual abuse was identified by mode of administration. The identification through this search of only one study – which was conducted among college students, with no studies done among adolescents – shows a significant gap in our knowledge regarding this issue. Given that understanding how to identify childhood abuse is a critical issue, this gap is disturbing and underscores the need for studies of identification of childhood abuse to be a research priority. For aim 2, a sample of participants, ages 12-24 years, receiving health services at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City were randomized to one of four modes of administration to identify a history of childhood physical abuse. The four modes of administration of screens to identify childhood abuse were paper and pencil screen, Audio Computer Assisted Self Interview screen (ACASI), face to face structured screen and face to face unstructured interview. The full sample also completed measures to assess demographic characteristics and to screen for depression symptoms. Of the sample, 44.5% of the participants disclosed childhood physical abuse. There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of childhood physical abuse identified according to mode of administration: face to face unstructured interview identified the highest proportion of childhood physical abuse victims, followed by face to face structured screen. After adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, depression, living arrangement and last grade completed, the odds of identifying physical abuse was 1.6 (95%CI: 1.0, 2.7) and 4.5 (95%CI: 2.6, 7.8) greater for face to face structured screen and for face to face unstructured interview, respectively as compared to paper and pencil screen. ACASI and paper and pencil were similar to each other but inferior to the face to face methods. For aim 3, in addition to what was measured for aim 2, the sample completed measures on a history of childhood sexual abuse and perceived health and health care utilization. The sample was then categorized into three groups: no abuse, physical abuse only, and sexual abuse with or without physical abuse. The association of childhood abuse status with perceived health and health care utilization were examined. There was no statistical significant association between a history of childhood abuse status and perceived health. However, the odds of reporting a fair/poor perception of health among those reporting childhood abuse were at least 40% lower regardless of whether the abuse was physical (OR: 0.60; 95%CI: 0.3,1.2) or sexual (OR: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.2,1.1). No significant association was found between childhood abuse status and health care utilization. However, the odds of victims reporting using urgent care only versus routine care only were at least 10% lower regardless of whether the abuse was physical (OR: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.3, 1.1) or sexual (OR: 0.90; 95%CI: 0.4,1.9). The odds of reporting using both urgent and routine care versus routine care only was similar between victims and non-victims for physical abuse (OR: 1.0; 95%CI: 0.6, 1.5) and was 30% higher for victims of sexual abuse (OR: 1.3; 95%CI: 0.8, 2.2). The findings from the three aims examined identified significant gaps in our knowledge on childhood abuse among adolescents and young adults suggesting an urgent need for further research. While much research has focused on the impact of childhood abuse on health and well-being, aim 1 reveals that little is known about which mode of administration of screens to identify childhood abuse is most effective in the identification of childhood abuse in adolescent and young adults. Furthermore, we know even less about what modes of administration of screens might be practical in primary care settings, or what must be done to improve the level of screening for childhood abuse by physicians and other health care providers. Although the findings from aim 2 suggest that face to face modes of administration are most effective in screening for childhood physical abuse in primary care settings, further studies are needed to support these findings. In addition, there is a need for studies that examine what are the best methods to use to identify childhood sexual abuse in primary care settings. The findings from aim 3 suggest that adolescents and young adults with a history of childhood physical and sexual abuse, receiving health care at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, do not perceive their health as worse than non-victims nor do they appear to utilize health care differently from non-victims. These findings contrast with results from prior studies of perceived health status and health care utilization among adolescents and young adult childhood abuse victims. Understanding how abuse impacts both the perception of health and health care utilization will be crucial in the development of interventions to identify and support adolescent and young adult victims of childhood physical and sexual abuse.

The purpose of this project was to examine the predictors of risky sexual behaviors and poor eating behaviors for women who experienced childhood sexual abuse, including family hardiness, and depression in a structural equation model. A second group of those who had not been sexually abused as children was also tested using the same structural equation model.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent, pattern and forms of child sexual abuse amongst university students / to investigate the degree of sexual coercion / to examine victim-perpetrator relationships / to determine the extent to which students are bothered by the event at the time of completing the Early Sexual Experiences Checklist / to establish the age of the student at the time the event occurred and also the age of the other person involved when the event occurred / and to determine the frequency of the coercive event.

Terapeutiese hulpverlening aan die seksueel gemolesteerde kind binne gesinsverband vanuit 'n Sielkundige Opvoedkundige perspektief is in hierdie studie onderneem. 'n Oorsig oor seksuele kindermolestering binne gesinsverband het getoon dat dit reeds vanaf die vroegste tye voorgekom het en tans kommerwekkende afmetings aanneem in die Republiek van Suid-Afrika, sonder dat die opvoedkundige sielkundige as lid van 'n multi-professionele span betrek word by terapeutiese hulpverlening. 'n Beskrywing van seksuele kindermolestering binne gesinsverband het getoon dat seksuele kindermolestering verskeie vorme aanneem en dat die oortreders daarvoor verantwoordelik is dat ouerskap en gesinstrukture ontoereikend verwerklik word. Dit bied aan die opvoedkundige sielkundige die moontlikheid om vanwee sy toeganklikheid en professionele deskundigheid as lid van 'n multiprofessionele span toereikend terapeutiese hulp te verleen aan die seksueel gemolesteerde kind. Terapeutiese hulpverlening aan die seksueel gemolesteerde kind binne gesinsverband is onderneem vanuit 'n Sielkundige Opvoedkundige benadering met relasie terapie as wyse van hulpverlening / This study investigates therapeutic aid to the child who is sexually abused by a family member, from the viewpoint of Psychology of Education. An overview of sexual abuse of children in the family context indicates a long history of occurence and present statistics show an alarming increase in reported cases with educational psychologists seldom being included in a multi-discipl inary thera-peutic team. A description of sexual abuse of children in the family context suggests that this may take different forms and the perpetrators are responsible for the breakdown in parenting and family structures. Educational psychologists are, because of their professional expertise and accessibility, able to offer thera-peutic aid to the sexually abused child as a member of a multi-professional team. Therapeutic aid to the sexually abused child in the family context is undertaken with Relationship Therapy as a medium of aid / Psychology of Education / M.Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

M.A. / According to the Child Protection Unit (1997) 25% of young South African females experience some form of childhood sexual abuse before they are 18 years old. Alongside this frighteningly high statistic is an increasing trend for these victims to report these transgressions and, particularly during adulthood, speak out about their experiences. Childhood sexual abuse results in a number of potentially devastating long term effects that limit the adult survivor's capacity to enjoy life to the fullest extent possible. The manner in which each adult survivor perceives her experiences of childhood sexual abuse is unique, as is the way in which she deals with these resulting effects. A variety of therapeutic interventions are available to these women, one of which is narrative therapy. This study is aimed at exploring the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse's understanding of the use of narrative therapy as a method of intervention. A qualitative methodology is utilised to explore the manner in which adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse understand narrative therapy, and how it can be used to help them deal with the long term effects that are a result of their abusive experiences. The focus of this research is therefore on the adult survivor who has been and still is, a recipient of narrative therapy. The theoretical basis for the intervention with the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse is established in the discussion of childhood sexual abuse and the adult survivor, as well as narrative therapy and the historical constructs, like postmodernism, constructivism, and social constructionism, that are instrumental in the development of this interventive technique. For the aim of this study a representative sample of two respondents is used. That is two adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse who are actively involved in the narrative therapy process. This sample lends itself to in-depth interviewing where the respondents ii are able to explore their own perceptions of narrative therapy and how this method of intervention has impacted on their own experience of reality. the data is gathered by means of field notes, audio-tapes which are transcribed, and a thorough literature review. Analysis of the data collected is done manually and according to a schedule. The schedule is developed according to coding categories that are identified when working through the raw data. Coding is done by the researcher and a co-decoder in order to compare the results. In the coding process the researcher and co-decoder utilise the schedule to code the transcribed audio-tapes and field notes. The information gleaned from the data gathering and analysis is used to identify central themes. These themes are offered as results. The results obtained are compared to relevant literature in order to further the validity of the research. From the study, methodological and theoretical conclusions can be drawn. The methodological conclusions have to do with the method of research utilised in this study. Regarding the contextual aims of the empirical study, certain theoretical conclusions are drawn. The results and conclusions indicate the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse's perception of the use of narrative therapy as a treatment methodology. Recommendations are offered on the basis of the study and the conclusions drawn. The methodology and context of the empirical study ensure the connection of the results and conclusions to the aims and objectives of this study. The research indicates that adult survivors perceive the use of narrative therapy as being extremely valuable and effective in the treatment of childhood sexual abuse.

As an MFA candidate at the Florida Atlantic University, I began in figurative painting and ended with abstract ink and pencil drawings in my thesis work. In between was a progression of artistic experimentation in theme, technique and medium to explore issues of female identity and childhood sexual abuse. From a girl trapped in a dark fairytale to a pregnant woman followed by a pedophile to a new mother frustrated that her own ambitions have been usurped, the final transformation of female identity into fierce protector came after confronting memories of child abuse. Using India ink and pencil drawings, my thesis work recreates scenes of a struggle between the same attacker and a powerful mother. She spins her own hair into a delicate, but powerful, barrier that keeps her daughter safe. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection