How I Survived Emotional Abuse: A Narrative Study

Abstract

Children of divorce are not new to society yet their coping strategies are overlooked. Different abuse histories warrant a unique combination of coping strategies to deal with memories of past abuse. Coping has been put forward as an important element in understanding the long-term functioning of individuals with a history of emotionally abuse. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by a child of divorced parents, the coping strategies adopted by the child and how these coping strategies affected her level of perceived stress and life satisfaction. By using a narrative study, a female respondent, aged 13 who had been victimised through parental divorce was interviewed. Face-to-face interview was conducted by employing unstructured questions. Thematic analysis was implemented to analyse the data. Major themes found were; internal and external challenges, as well as positive and negative strategies. The results revealed that the child experienced mental health problems such as depression and loneliness during her childhood as a consequence of parental divorce which is perceived as a huge stressor or challenge in her life event. She engaged in both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping – using active emotion-focused coping other than avoidant focused coping – which led to boosting satisfaction in her life. This study contributes to school counsellors in helping school children, as well as for Muslim families with children coping with emotional abuse.