Childhood Sexual Abuse Trauma Research Articles

The Complex Interplay between BDSM and Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Form of Repetition and Dissociation or a Path Toward Processing and Healing?

In this theoretical paper the authors explore the connections between BDSM (i.e., practices involving bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, masochism) and CSA (childhood sexual abuse) in order to investigate the potential unconscious mechanisms at play and the therapeutic functions of BDSM practices among CSA victims. Drawing on the embodiment framework, the authors address how BDSM may serve as a form of unconscious repetition of traumatic experiences for certain CSA victims, with the aim of processing trauma and healing. A review of the empirical evidence regarding the links between BDSM and CSA trauma, along with the potential of BDSM to trigger trauma and elicit dissociation, guilt, or shame, is conducted. Finally, BDSM practices are reviewed through the concept of trauma-play, which involves deliberate rescripting. In short, the complex relationship between BDSM and CSA is highlighted, as well as its implications for understanding and potentially addressing trauma experiences in therapy.

Are Childhood Sexual Abuse and Intimate Safety in Adult Intimate Relationships Correlated?

Individuals who have experienced childhood sexual abuse report numerous problems in intimate relationships, including their physical and sexual experience. Satisfying sexuality arises from intimate safety, the prerequisite for which is mutual trust, which, however, can be impaired due to betrayal in individuals who were traumatized by sexual abuse in their childhood. In a study with 168 participants, we were interested in differences in intimate safety within intimate relationships (measured by the ISQ – Intimate Safety Questionnaire subscale which refers to sexual safety). Differences were studied within two groups of couples – those who had experienced childhood sexual abuse and those who had never experienced the sexual abuse in childhood. We found that among the participating couples, in 42 (50%) couples at least one of the partners experienced at least one type of sexual abuse. One or more types of sexual abuse in childhood were experienced by 12 (14%) men and 39 (46.4%) women. We also found that in couples who had experienced sexual abuse in childhood and couples who had not, there is a difference in intimate safety in their sexual life. The couples who had not experienced sexual abuse in childhood reported statistically significantly higher sexual safety in their intimate relationships. We can conclude that childhood sexual abuse trauma is expressed in sexual intimacy with mistrust, which through the decreased feeling of safety inhibits individuals’ vulnerability and reduces the opportunity to create intimacy. The survey was limited by a biased sample.

Girl Who Wrote to Primo Levi. The “Foreign Body” Speaks

Through the exposition of a clinical case, the author explores how a sexually abused woman can set up strategies for psychic survival to the feeling of catastrophe and how she can attempt to communicate and share it. The clinical case connects childhood sexual abuse trauma and the trauma of surviving concentration camps. The paper refers to two main achievements of Ferenczi's research: (1) the consequences of the traumatic experience and of the disavowal of it, such as dissociation, fragmentation, psychic agony; and (2) the focus on countertransference as emotional sharing and as receptiveness to the deep, unconscious and unspeakable communications, which can transfer to the psychoanalyst through somatic ways.

Moving Beyond the Pain: Women's Responses to the Perinatal Period After Childhood Sexual Abuse

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA), a significant public health problem, affects 1 in 9 women presenting for prenatal care. Female survivors of CSA often experience posttraumatic stress disorder. Flashbacks of the trauma can interfere with a survivor's ability to get appropriate perinatal care. The purpose of this study was to construct a theoretical framework describing how CSA survivors manage intrusive reexperiencing of their CSA trauma during the perinatal period. Grounded theory was used to construct the framework of this study. Twelve women, aged 18 to 39 years, who were pregnant or gave birth within 12 months of the interview and self-identified as having experienced CSA were recruited. Open-ended interviews were conducted. Participants were asked to describe the CSA experience and how it affected them during the perinatal period. Constant comparison analysis was used to construct the framework. The study framework depicts how pregnant survivors of CSA manage the intrusive reexperiencing of CSA triggered during the perinatal period by 3 processes categorized as reliving it, taking charge of it, and getting over it. This framework suggests that survivors can begin to move beyond the pain of posttraumatic stress disorder, a mental health sequelae of CSA, during the perinatal period. Practitioners can use this framework to tailor interventions to the phase of the survivor's current experience.

Health professionalsʼ experiences with older adults affected by the trauma of their childhood sexual abuse: a systematic review of text and expert opinion.

Review Objectives The overall objective of this systematic review is to determine the best available narrative evidence related to the experiences of health professionals working with people who have survived into old age, and who are now experiencing problems or eliciting behaviour related to the past trauma of their childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The review will consider the experiences of health professionals working with older adults; with and without dementia, living in both community and institutional settings, who are suffering the effects of CSA trauma. Because the first hand experiences of health care professionals may have difficulty being disseminated beyond the care setting, the review will also consider the opinions, comments and conclusions of health care professional researchers who have studied or considered the experiences of health care professionals in the above settings. This latter group of researchers may also provide a voice for the aged persons themselves into this systematic review of text and opinion. The findings of the review will contribute towards the identification and management of elderly people who are experiencing problems related to the past trauma of their childhood sexual abuse. Review Questions The specific review question to be addressed is: What are the experiences of health professionals working with adults who have survived into old age, and who are now experiencing problems or eliciting behaviour related to the past trauma of childhood sexual abuse? Criteria for considering papers for this review The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) database and Cochrane Library have been searched and no previous systematic reviews on this specific topic were identified as published or underway. A preliminary search of the literature uncovered almost nothing relevant to the focus of this review; elderly childhood sexual abuse survivors. In view of this, a narrative review of text and opinion was considered the most appropriate type of evidence to address the research question at this time. TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

Child sexual abuse: is it a risk factor for pregnancy?

This paper is a report of a study of the relationship of post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, and health status to high risk pregnancy status in survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Studies examining the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have delineated diverse psychological, cognitive, and social difficulties in adult survivors that often manifest somatically. A random sample of 1835 mid-pregnant Jewish women was recruited in Israel over an 18-month period in 2005-2007. Participants were divided into three sub-groups consisting of the different combinations between pregnancy at risk (yes/no), childhood sexual abuse (yes/no), other than childhood sexual abuse trauma (yes no), and no trauma (yes/no). They completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of five scales: a demographic variables scale, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Traumatic Events Questionnaire, and Childhood Sexual Experiences Scale. Pregnant survivors of childhood sexual abuse suffered higher distress levels which heightened poor health, hence increasing the probability of high risk pregnancy compared to women who had had other than sexual abuse trauma or reported no trauma. Post traumatic stress symptoms and avoidance (a sub-category) were found to explain chronic illnesses, whereas depression was found to explain gynecological problems in pregnant sexually-abused survivors. Healthcare workers need to recognize and address the psychological state of pregnant child sexual abuse survivors. Screening of pregnant women for child sexual abuse is needed to assess survivors' psychological well-being and recognize their unique concerns during pregnancy monitoring.

Social Support Characteristics among Mothers with and without Childhood Sexual Abuse Trauma

Social Support Characteristics among Mothers with and without Childhood Sexual Abuse Trauma

Positive Resolution of Childhood Sexual Abuse Experiences: The Role of Coping, Benefit-Finding and Meaning-Making

Resolution of the trauma of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and the current adjustment of 60 adult female CSA survivors were explored through qualitative and quantitative analyses of their coping strategies, perceived benefits, and meaning-making attempts. While the majority of the women (87%) perceived at least some benefit resulting from coping with the CSA experience, many (29%) found it impossible to make any meaning of their trauma. Specific benefits that were associated with various aspects of positive adjustment (marital satisfaction, better physical health, less isolation) included improved relationships with others, religious or spiritual growth, and improved parenting skills. Some perceived benefits were actually associated with a negative outcome. Increased knowledge of sexual abuse was associated with more isolation and lower marital satisfaction. When positive meaning could be derived from the coping process, the women reported less isolation. Avoidant coping was strongly associated with more depressive symptoms and poorer resolution of abuse issues. Results highlight the importance of considering coping strategies and cognitive restructuring efforts in designing therapeutic interventions with this population.

Review of <em>Healing from the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Journey for Women.</em> Karen A. Duncan. Reviewed by Carol T. Tully.

Review of <em>Healing from the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Journey for Women.</em> Karen A. Duncan. Reviewed by Carol T. Tully.

Reawakened trauma of childhood sexual abuse

Reawakened trauma of childhood sexual abuse

Healing from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse: the journey for women

Acknowledgment Dedication Preface Introduction The Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse Remembering the Trauma of Sexual Abuse A Legacy of Trauma: A History of Abuse Chronic Shock Symptoms and Dissociation The Stages of Healing Prolonged Problems from Childhood Sexual Abuse Ending the Pretense Exposing the Perpetrator: A Moral Decision, Legal Challenge, and Family Dilemma The Therapeutic Relationship The Voices of Women Appendix A: Trauma and Memory Appendix B: Distorted Thought Patterns Appendix C: Characteristics of a Healthy Family Appendix D: Symptoms of Chronic Shock Appendix E: Managing Anxiety Appendix F: Dissolving the Outrage Appendix G: Boundaries Appendix H: Suggestions for Family Members Appendix I: Forgiveness Appendix J: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Resources Endnotes Bibliography Index

Childhood Sexual Trauma in Gay Men

Summary Social context is a crucial lens through which to see and understand the experience of gay men who have been sexually abused as children. Clinicians who recognize the complex interplay of forces within this context will be better able to serve their gay male sexual abuse survivor clients. Given the trauma inherent in a cultural context which stigmatizes, devalues, pathologizes and punishes homosexuality, the added trauma of childhood sexual abuse in effect exponentially intensifies the trauma and the task of healing. It is particularly important that clinicians assist clients to separate sexual abuse and its effects from sexual orientation. Ideally, the former comes to be seen as imposed from without due to another's pathology, and the latter as an intrinsically good and positive part of self that exists entirely apart from the former. The phenomenon of an “Imprinted Arousal Pattern” (IAP), common among sexual abuse survivors, induces the individual to continue to be eroticized by stimulation and circumstances that overtly or covertly resemble the abuse circumstances. Case illustrations are provided to aid the reader in understanding and assisting others to work through this dynamic.

With the Phoenix Rising: Lessons From Ten Women Who Overcame the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Book ReviewFull AccessWith the Phoenix Rising: Lessons From Ten Women Who Overcame the Trauma of Childhood Sexual AbuseMaxine Harris, Ph.D.Maxine HarrisSearch for more papers by this author, Ph.D.Published Online:1 Jul 2000https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.51.7.945AboutSectionsView EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail For clinicians working in the field of trauma recovery, the compelling question is not why sexual and physical abuse cause such pain and such lasting psychological distress, but rather why some people seem able to survive and even thrive after having endured conditions that might legitimately be described as horrific. In their book With the Phoenix Rising, Grossman, Cook, Kepkep, and Koenen tackle the complex question of resiliency, which they define as "doing well in the face of a history of serious stress or trauma."After a brief review of the literature, the authors introduce us to the ten women whose stories form the basis of the book— and therein lie both the strength and the weakness of this very interesting book. The stories are compelling and instructive as the women share how they have managed to survive and to build meaningful and full lives. However, there are only ten women. They were selected from among 26 who heard about the project and expressed interest. All ten were in therapy, sometimes of many years' duration. Eight were college graduates, four with advanced degrees, and several worked in the mental health field. Despite the authors' assurance that the women are a diverse group, they appear to represent only one segment of the survivor continuum. That said, there is still much to learn from the stories these survivors have to tell.The authors describe a number of childhood variables that they believe contribute to resiliency. Many of the interviewees had found a safe haven, in school or at work, where they were able to succeed and even excel. This success not only contributed to the women's self-esteem but also led the way to resources in adulthood that furthered recovery. All of the women continued to believe in the importance of relationships, at least partly because they had experienced a caring relationship with at least one person while growing up. Besides providing respite from the abuse, these supports gave the survivor the sense that she could be loved. All of the survivors made some attempt to manage their feelings, and most of them did so while keeping the feelings conscious.Although the book is about resiliency, in the third part of their discussion the authors lay out what might well be a blueprint for recovery. Here they are not only talking about the ten women with whom they spoke, but they are also guiding women and therapists through the essential components of the recovery process. The authors stress the importance of managing feelings and offer a range of strategies from self-soothing and humor to cognitive labeling and controlled expression. They emphasize self-care and the development of clear emotional and physical boundaries. Recovery includes formulating an accurate appreciation of what one has been through and a willingness to acknowledge one's achievement in having survived (1).Finally, the authors stress the importance of making sense of the abuse, which includes not only shifting blame from oneself to one's perpetrator but also developing an appreciation of the "big picture." For some of the women this meant a social or philosophical understanding, for others it was a spiritual perspective, and for still others it involved developing a caring and altruistic stance toward others.The book concludes with a revisiting of the ten women five to eight years later, for which I was especially grateful because I had come to care about them; so often the reader of books based on clinical interviews is left wondering what happened. The authors fill us in on the life events and triumphs of the courageous women, and it is wonderful to read that they continue to face the challenges of growing and developing.Dr. Harris is clinical director of Community Connections and executive director of the National Capital Center for Trauma Recovery and Empowerment, both in Washington, D.C.by Frances K. Grossman, Alexandra B. Cook, Selin S. Kepkep, and Karestan C. Koenen; San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999, 258 pages, $34.95

Sarah's Story: Using Ritual Therapy to Address Psychospiritual Issues in Treating Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

“Sarah's” story is a true account of one individual's healing from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse through counseling, spiritual growth, and the use of therapeutic ritual. The article explores the relationship between the psychospiritual issues associated with childhood sexual abuse and commonly designated treatment goals. Addressing psychospiritual issues is shown to be the key to achieving assimilation and healing. Ritual therapy is suggested as a method for helping clients accomplish this task through the discovery of metameaning. A description of Sarah's therapeutic ritual is offered as a model for treatment design, and its efficacy in Sarah's case is evaluated.

Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Remembering and Repressing

Women involved in out-patient treatment for substance abuse were interviewed to examine their recollections of childhood sexual abuse. Overall, 54% of the 105 women reported a history of childhood sexual abuse. Of these, the majority (81%) remembered all or part of the abuse their whole lives; 19% reported they forgot the abuse for a period of time, and later the memory returned. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives reported a clearer memory, with a more detailed picture. They also reported greater intensity of feelings at the time the abuse happened. Women who remembered the abuse their whole lives did not differ from others in terms of the violence of the abuse or whether the violence was incestuous. These data bear on current discussions concerning the extent to which repression is a common way of coping with childhood sexual abuse trauma, and also bear on some widely held beliefs about the correlates of repression.

Turning Symptoms into Allies: Utilization Approaches with Posttraumatic Symptoms

Adult patients with symptoms connected to the trauma of childhood sexual abuse often present in therapy with multiple symptoms and life difficulties and offer a challenge to even the most experienced clinician. In this paper, I describe my work with three such patients who were crippled in different ways by symptoms that had proved resistant to years of various therapeutic interventions. In every case, I accepted and utilized these symptoms as positive resources for successful and rapid change. Patients were then taught self-utilization approaches which allowed them to sustain and extend initial improvements. I conclude that the indirect utilization principle introduced by Milton Erickson provides an effective method to use in approaching some of the more persistent patterns of posttraumatic symptomatology related to childhood sexual abuse.