Abstract
Resolution of the trauma of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and the current adjustment of 60 adult female CSA survivors were explored through qualitative and quantitative analyses of their coping strategies, perceived benefits, and meaning-making attempts. While the majority of the women (87%) perceived at least some benefit resulting from coping with the CSA experience, many (29%) found it impossible to make any meaning of their trauma. Specific benefits that were associated with various aspects of positive adjustment (marital satisfaction, better physical health, less isolation) included improved relationships with others, religious or spiritual growth, and improved parenting skills. Some perceived benefits were actually associated with a negative outcome. Increased knowledge of sexual abuse was associated with more isolation and lower marital satisfaction. When positive meaning could be derived from the coping process, the women reported less isolation. Avoidant coping was strongly associated with more depressive symptoms and poorer resolution of abuse issues. Results highlight the importance of considering coping strategies and cognitive restructuring efforts in designing therapeutic interventions with this population.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abidin, R. R. (1995). Parenting stress index (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Amirkhan, J. H. (1990). A factor analytically derived measure of coping: The coping strategy indicator. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1066–1074.
Arata, C. M. (2002). Child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 9, 135–164.
Bal, S., Van Oost, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Crombez, G. (2003). Avoidant coping as a mediator between self-reported sexual abuse and stress-related symptoms in adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 883–897.
Bonanno, G. A., Keltner, D., Holen, A., & Horowitz, M. J. (1995). When avoiding unpleasant emotion might not be such a bad thing: Verbal-autonomic response dissociation and midlife conjugal bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 975–985.
Brand, B. L., & Alexander, P. C. (2003). Coping with incest: The relationship between recollections of childhood coping and adult functioning in female survivors of incest. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 285–293.
Briere, J. (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of the lasting effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Coffey, P., Leitenberg, H., Henning, K., Turner, T., & Bennett, R. T. (1996). The relation between methods of coping during adulthood with a history of childhood sexual abuse and current psychological adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1090–1093.
DiLillo, D. (2001). Interpersonal functioning among women reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse: Empirical findings and methodological issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 21, 553–576.
DiLillo, D., Long, P. J., & Russell, L. M. (1994). Childhood coping strategies of intrafamilial and extrafamilial female sexual abuse victims. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 3, 45–65.
Draucker, C. B. (2001). Learning the harsh realities of life: Sexual violence, disillusionment, and meaning. Health Care for Women International, 22, 67–84.
Finkelhor, D., & Browne, A. (1985). The traumatic impact of child sexual abuse: A conceptualization. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55, 531–541.
Futa, K. T., Nash, C. L., Hansen, D. J., & Garbin, C. P. (2003). Adult survivors of childhood abuse: An analysis of coping mechanisms used for stressful childhood memories and current stressors. Journal of Family Violence, 18, 227–239.
Himelein, M. J., & McElrath, J. V. (1996). Resilient child sexual abuse survivors: Cognitive coping and illusion. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 747–758.
Hodgins, D. C., Maticka-Tyndale, E., El-Guebaly, N., & West, M. (1993). The CAST-6: Development of a short-form of the children of alcoholics screening test. Addictive Behaviors, 18, 337–345.
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered assumptions. New York: Free Press.
Janoff-Bulman, R. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 30–34.
Janoff-Bulman, R., & Frantz, C. M. (1997). The impact of trauma on meaning: From meaningless world to meaningful life. In M. Power & C. R. Brewin (Eds.), The transformation of meaning in psychological therapies (pp. 75–89). New York: Wiley.
Jonzon, E., & Lindblad, F. (2004). Disclosure, reactions, and social support: Findings from a sample of adult victims of child sexual abuse. Child Maltreatment, 9, 190–200.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping.New York: Springer.
Leitenberg, H., Greenwald, E., & Cado, S. (1992). A retrospective study of long-term methods of coping with having been sexually abused during childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 399–407.
Liem, J. H., James, J. B., O’Toole, J. G., & Boudewyn, A. C. (1997). Assessing resilience in adults with histories of childhood sexual abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 594–606.
Long, P. J., & Jackson, J. L. (1993). Childhood coping strategies and the adult adjustment of female sexual abuse victims. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2, 23–39.
McFarland, C., & Alvaro, C. (2000). The impact of motivation on temporal comparisons: Coping with traumatic events by perceiving personal growth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 327–343.
McMillen, C., Zuravin, S., & Rideout, G. (1995). Perceived benefit from child sexual abuse. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 1037–1043.
Merrill, L. L., Thomsen, C. J., Sinclair, B. B., Gold, S. R., & Milner, J. S. (2001). Predicting the impact of child sexual abuse on women: The role of abuse severity, parental support, and coping strategies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 992–1006.
Messman-Moore, T. L., & Long, P. J. (2003). The role of childhood sexual abuse sequelae in sexual revictimization: An empirical review and theoretical reformulation. Clinical Psychology Review, 23, 537–571.
Peterson, C., & Steen, T. A. (2002). Optimistic explanatory style. In C. R. Synder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 244–256). New York: Oxford University Press.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.
Radloff, L. S., & Locke, B. Z. (1986). The community mental health assessment survey and the CES-D Scale. In M. M. Wissman, J. K. Myers, & C. E. Ross (Eds.), Community surveys of psychiatric disorders (pp. 177–189). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Schwartzer, R., & Knoll, N. (2003). Positive coping: Mastering demands and searching for meaning. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures (pp. 393–409). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Sewell, K. W., & Williams, A. M. (2001). Construing stress: A constructivist therapeutic approach to posttraumatic stress reactions. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss (pp. 293–310). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Silver, R. L., Boon, C., & Stones, M. H. (1983). Searching for meaning in misfortune: Making sense of incest. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 81–102.
Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.
Taylor, S. E. (1989). Positive illusions: Creative self-deception and the healthy mind. New York: Basic Books.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1–18.
Ullman, S. E. (2003). Social reactions to child sexual abuse disclosures: A critical review. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 12, 89–111.
Wortman, C. B. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Progress and problems. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 81–90.
Wright, M. O., Fopma-Loy, J., & Fischer, S. (2005). Multidimensional assessment of resilience in mothers who are child sexual abuse survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1173–1193.
Wright, M. O., & Masten, A. S. (2005). Resilience processes in development: Fostering positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In S. Goldstein, & R. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 17–37). New York: Kluwer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wright, M.O., Crawford, E. & Sebastian, K. Positive Resolution of Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences: The Role of Coping, Benefit-Finding and Meaning-Making. J Fam Viol 22, 597–608 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9111-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9111-1