Family environment, personality, and psychological symptoms in adults sexually abused as children

Mimicry Deception Theory applied to sexual abuse of children

Sexual abuse of children remains a widespread problem with well-documented, adverse consequences. Often, abuse ending is contingent on a disclosure made by the victim, but victims delay disclosure if they tell someone at all. The factors associated with (non)disclosure are complex and interrelated. In this paper, we propose a new theoretical framework (Mimicry Deception Theory; MDT) to explore various aspects of the grooming process, using a qualitative content analysis of US court appeal cases (N = 25). Specifically, we focus on how MDT components contribute to the likelihood of a CSA disclosure. MDT is made up of five components: Victim Selection, Community Integration, Complexity of Deception, Resource Extraction, and Detectability. These five components allow us to look at several characteristics of abuse in tandem and examine how they interact to impact various outcomes, such as (non)disclosure. We provide a detailed codebook for this framework, that can be used to systematically extract relevant information from large amounts of data. Through the application of this framework, we were able to identify several factors that may play a role in delayed or non-disclosure. Further, we found repeat offenders were likely to use the exact same methods of access, grooming, and remaining undetected across victims. Implications for prevention, as well as clinical interventions with perpetrators as well as victims are discussed.

Non-offending caregiver support in cases of child sexual abuse: An examination of the impact of support on formal disclosures

BACKGROUND

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a highly prevalent issue, impacting a substantial number of children globally (12 %; Stoltenborgh et al., 2011). Past research has found many children who have been sexually abused will delay their disclosure until adulthood, if they disclose at all (McElvaney, 2015; Reitsema & Grietens, 2016). This is often likely because of the adverse impact that reporting abuse can have for the child and their families (especially when committed by an intrafamilial perpetrator). Non-offending caregiver support has evidenced promise in increasing rates of disclosure (Cyr et al., 2014).

OBJECTIVE

It was hypothesized that higher levels of caregiver support would result in shorter delays of disclosure and that less support is given when the abuser is closely related to the child.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

CSA cases (n = 164) were pulled from the RCMP database of reported crimes for the greater Okanagan Area, British Columbia, Canada.

METHODS

Cases were coded for non-offending caregiver behaviors that indicated support and for relation to perpetrator.

RESULTS

Higher levels of non-offending caregiver support were found to lead to shorter delays of disclosure. Non-offending caregivers were significantly less supportive when the abuser was more closely related.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregiver support acted as a protective factor against delays of disclosure. However, this support decreased significantly when the abuser was closely related. The current study provides evidence for the need to support caregivers of children who have been abused with educational programs and resources so they can properly support the child impacted.

Grooming Hurts Too: The Effects of Types of Perpetrator Grooming on Trauma Symptoms in Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

There are a multitude of behaviors that child sexual abusers use to 'groom' children into becoming vulnerable to abuse. In this study of 277 adult survivors of child sexual abuse, participants advised the many ways they were groomed into being abused by up to three perpetrators. The effects of three categories of grooming (Verbal Coercion, Grooming that used Drugs/Alcohol, and Threatening/Violent Grooming) were examined for their effects on trauma symptom severity. Using Linear Regressions, each grooming category had a significant predictive effect on trauma symptom severity. Multiple Linear Regressions revealed that for most trauma symptoms, Threatening/Violent Grooming was a significant predictor of trauma symptom severity, even when other more well-known variables were controlled for (including age at onset of abuse, relationship to perpetrator, and severity of abuse), with a notable exception of verbal coercion as a significant predictor of sexual problems in adulthood (i.e. not satisfied, low drive, overactivity, confusion, bad thoughts or feelings).

The role of childhood maltreatment in the altered trait and global expression of personality in cocaine addiction

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Drug addictions are debilitating disorders that are highly associated with personality abnormalities. Early life stress (ELS) is a common risk factor for addiction and personality disturbances, but the relationships between ELS, addiction, and personality are poorly understood.

METHODS

Ninety-five research participants were assessed for and grouped by ELS history and cocaine dependence. NEO-FFI personality measures were compared between the groups to define ELS- and addiction-related differences in personality traits. ELS and cocaine dependence were then examined as predictors of personality trait scores. Finally, k-means clustering was used to uncover clusters of personality trait configurations within the sample. Odds of cluster membership across subject groups was then determined.

RESULTS

Trait expression differed significantly across subject groups. Cocaine-dependent subjects with a history of ELS (cocaine+/ELS+) displayed the greatest deviations in normative personality. Cocaine dependence significantly predicted four traits, while ELS predicted neuroticism and agreeableness; there was no interaction effect between ELS and cocaine dependence. The cluster analysis identified four distinct personality profiles: Open, Gregarious, Dysphoric, and Closed. Distribution of these profiles across subject groups differed significantly. Inclusion in cocaine+/ELS+, cocaine-/ELS+, and cocaine-/ELS- groups significantly increased the odds of expressing the Dysphoric, Open and Gregarious profiles, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Cocaine dependence and early life stress were significantly and differentially associated with altered expression of individual personality traits and their aggregation as personality profiles, suggesting that individuals who are at-risk for developing addictions due to ELS exposure may benefit from personality centered approaches as an early intervention and prevention.

Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in Childhood: Some Critical Methodological Reflections

This article attempts to analyze the prevalence rates of sexual abuse in childhood reported in comparative empirical studies, giving an overview of a selection of representative studies reporting high rates of abuse and comparing it to an overview of studies reporting lower rates. Extremely discrepant rates of childhood sexual abuse are reported in a number of empirical studies conducted in this field over the past 26 years, particularly those looking beyond prevalence to study the links between this type of trauma and future motherhood. To shed light on the disparities in the reported prevalence rates, the article reviews the principal methodological biases that have contaminated the findings. The authors then offer several suggestions for improvement that might be implemented in future studies.