Unwanted early sexual experiences (UESE) are traumatic experiences that many children worldwide are exposed to on a daily basis. Some of these victims struggle to adapt to life, whereas others become survivors, exhibiting post-traumatic growth after such an experience. South Africa has some of the highest UESE prevalence rates in the world, highlighting the importance of research conducted within this field in the country. With an overarching psychofortogenic framework, and through the implementation of a convergent parallel mixed methods research design, the study explored and described whether resilience and attachment act as mediators impacting upon the psychosocial sequelae which a UESE survivor might experience. The study was divided into three phases. Phase 1 consisted of a small-scale survey design which was conducted with 304 participants while Phase 2 consisted of nine semi-structure interviews with UESE survivors, who were volunteers from the original sample. Finally, Phase 3 provided an integrated summary of the findings from the first two phases. During Phase 1 significant findings relating to the survivors of UESE, their levels of resilience and attachment relationships were outlined. Of the total sample, 32.43% males and 30.5% females indicated that they had been exposed to a UESE. Most of the perpetrators were known to the survivors with friends being identified as the most common perpetrators. Parental relationships characterised by trust, open communication and less alienation were found to impact upon the degree to which participants reported being bothered by the UESE. Furthermore, parental alienation at the time of the UESE had a significantly negative impact on the survivors’ adult relationship styles. During Phase 2 a number of themes emerged including the manner of disclosure, reasons for delayed disclosure, relationship to the confidant, confidant’s response to disclosure, effects of the response to disclosure, the impact of the UESE upon the survivor, impact of the UESE on relationships, coping/resilience, advice to professionals, the confidant, and the survivor. The final phase confirmed the research hypothesis that resilience and attachment act as mediating factors impacting upon a variety of psychosocial sequelae which a UESE survivor might experience. Serendipitously, disclosure was found to be a mediating factor, securing a significant role within the study. In conclusion a future intervention titled ‘Post-Traumatic Growth: A UESE model of Disclosure, Resilience and Attachment’, was outlined, based on the study’s findings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:27074 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Defferary,Tanya Elizabeth Michele |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, DPhil |
| Format | xx, 350 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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