Understanding Post-Traumatic Growth in Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Abstract

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) involves a positive transformation in the survivor’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to life. However, little is known about the factors facilitating PTG in adolescent survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This study examined how potential variables (self-concept, dissociation, the severity of the abuse, and distress symptoms) contribute and interact to account for perceived PTG in a sample of 70 Israeli adolescents, all survivors of childhood sexual abuse, along with one of their parents. It also explored how survivors’ self-concept, the tendency for dissociation, and distress symptoms moderated the association between abuse severity and PTG. Regression decision trees and linear regression models addressed the study’s questions. The results of the regression trees indicated that survivors with low global self-concept had lower levels of PTG, whereas survivors with high global self-concept and low tendencies for dissociation displayed higher levels of PTG. The linear regression analysis also pointed to the contribution of abuse severity and survivors’ global self-concept to PTG. A positive association was only found between abuse severity and PTG for survivors with moderate to high global self-concept. The discussion centers on the combined pivotal role of positive global self-concept, low dissociation, and abuse severity in facilitating adolescents’ PTG.