The effects of gender, personal trauma history and memory continuity on the believability of child sexual abuse disclosure among psychologists

Abstract

Gender, a personal history of trauma and attitudes towards continuous vs recovered memories of abuse significantly impact the believability of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) disclosures in community samples. Yet, whether these variables influence the believability of CSA disclosure and subsequent clinical decisions made by practicing psychologists is underexplored. A vignette of trauma disclosure from a hypothetical adult client was presented via an online survey to 292 registered psychologists. Participants rated the believability of the disclosure, answered an open-ended item regarding treatment planning, and completed the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey to measure personal trauma history. Results indicated that female psychologists believed disclosures significantly more than male psychologists and that disclosures comprised of continuous memories were believed more than recently recovered memories. A significant interaction between gender and personal trauma history was also revealed. Female psychologists believed disclosures regardless of their personal trauma history, while male psychologists with a personal history of trauma believed disclosures significantly more than male psychologists without personal trauma history. Reported believability of the disclosure, while unrelated to treatment planning, was associated with a reported intention to validate the client’s experience. The results support that, similar to community samples, gender and a personal trauma history impact psychologist believability of CSA disclosure. The research further supports that psychologist level of belief then translates into clinical implications.