Abstract
This study examined perceptions of past sexual abuse experiences and quality of life among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Fifty-two adult survivors (15 men, 37 women) of childhood paternal sexual abuse who had completed therapy were interviewed about their past and current life. A qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed three types of explanations for the offenders' abusive behavior (fathers and/or mothers in terms of compliance): characteristics of the offender-parent (incestuous father), the victim's characteristics, and circumstantial conditions. The results indicated that a higher percentage of survivors who attributed the abuse to the offender's characteristics managed to keep their self-esteem fairly intact and had a higher quality of life, in contrast to survivors who took full blame on themselves or blamed situational factors. The results further revealed that male survivors judged their quality of life as less satisfactory than did female survivors.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-13 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Child Sexual Abuse |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 9 Sep 2000 |
Keywords
- Adult survivors
- Parental abusive behavior
- Quality of life
- Sexual abuse
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health