Attachment, coping, and long-term outcomes of child sexual abuse

Date

2018-05

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Abstract

A large body of research has documented that child sexual abuse (CSA) has a negative long-term impact on survivors’ psychological and interpersonal functioning. However, many questions still exist concerning what factors impact CSA outcomes as well as how the underlying processes affect the outcomes. Subsequent research has emphasized the importance of identifying mechanisms (e.g., coping) and protective factors (e.g., family environment, attachment) that may protect CSA survivors against the negative consequences of CSA. The purpose of this project was to examine the mediating effects of avoidance coping and approach coping on the association between childhood attachment, CSA severity, and psychological distress among CSA survivors as well as the moderation role of childhood attachment in the relationship between the experience of CSA and psychological and relational outcomes. A convenience sample was collected through an online survey. There were 767 individuals participated in this study, including 427 CSA survivors and 340 participants without a history of CSA. We found that avoidance coping, and approach coping mediated the association between childhood attachment and psychological distress. Additionally, we found that childhood attachment moderated the relationship between the experience of CSA and anxious adult attachment. These findings may help develop attachment-based interventions to enhance CSA survivors’ effective copings strategies to reduce psychological and relational distress.

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Keywords

Child sexual abuse, Attachment, Coping

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