Psychological Sequelae of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Abuse-related Characteristics, Coping Strategies, and Attributional Style

Objective: The aim of this study was to test a model predicting the contribution of abuse-related characteristics and mediating variables such as coping and attributional style in the development of psychological sequelae in adults reporting a history of child sexual abuse (CSA).

Methodology: Two hundred and eighty-five males and females from three settings (a nonpatient, psychiatric outpatient, and psychiatric inpatient) completed a battery of questionnaires that included a (1) Sexual History Questionnaire, (2) Ways of Coping Questionnaire, (3) Attributional Style Questionnaire, and (4) the SCL-90-R.

Results: Of the 285 participants, 33% reported unwanted or forced sexual contact before the age of 18 years. Participants who reported a history of CSA also reported higher levels of psychological distress when compared to those who did not report a history of abuse. In testing the model concerning the relationship between victim-offender characteristics, mediating variables and psychological distress in adulthood; two abuse-related characteristics (number of offenders and duration of abuse) were found to be directly associated with psychological distress in adulthood. Other abuse-related variables (i.e., relation with offender, force, resistance, age of onset, participation, and frequency of abuse) were found to be related to psychological distress in adulthood through the mediation of various coping strategies (i.e., Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping) and attributions (i.e., internalization of the abuse).

Conclusions: The results of the present study further our understanding regarding the relationship between abuse-related characteristics, mediating factors such as coping and attributional style and psychological distress in adults with a history of CSA. Future research should focus on the development of interventions that focus on variables amenable to psychotherapy to ameliorate the psychological sequelae of CSA.