Toward the Rainbow After the Storm: Post-Traumatic Growth in Children Surviving Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) has been conceptualized as one of the severe forms of trauma in children with adverse multidimensional consequences throughout the lifetime of an individual. A vast literature exists to enumerate the short-term and long-term impact of CSA. However, recently, it has been observed that the impact of trauma may initially be profoundly negative but may not necessarily remain a negative experience throughout life. While trauma adversely challenges one’s basic beliefs about self, others, and the world, it may at times also enhance new ways of coping with it. These positive changes that co-exist with trauma have the potential to lead to psychological growth in the child. This productive process of growth in and after trauma is conceptualized as Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), a concept compared to a metaphorical rainbow comprising the vitalities of life forces after the storm of emotional turmoil. The article introduces the concept of PTG, elaborates on its relevance in CSA, identifies some of the factors determining PTG in CSA, and lastly highlights the importance of taking it up for further understanding in clinical practices and research studies.