Through the Eyes of a Child: Witnessing Childhood Trauma Is as Impactful as Experiencing Trauma for Polyvictimized Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

In this retrospective study of 244 adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA), their experiences of childhood polyvictimization were analyzed as to their cumulative effect on trauma symptoms, education, and income levels. The data were gathered by anonymously sampling adult survivors of CSA from we...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wolf, Molly R. (Author)
Contributors: Prabhu, Shraddha
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
In: Journal of interpersonal violence
Year: 2021, Volume: 36, Issue: 11/12, Pages: NP5663-NP5677
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Education
Income
Dissociation
trauma symptoms
Polyvictimization
Child Sexual Abuse
Description
Summary:In this retrospective study of 244 adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA), their experiences of childhood polyvictimization were analyzed as to their cumulative effect on trauma symptoms, education, and income levels. The data were gathered by anonymously sampling adult survivors of CSA from websites that were specific to this population (such as online peer support groups). Their experiences of victimization were examined as to Cumulative Polyvictimization, Witnessing Traumas (such as witnessing intimate partner violence), and Experiencing Traumas (such as child physical abuse). The majority of the sample (87%) experienced polyvictimization in childhood (in combination with CSA), with the largest part of the sample (83%) experiencing emotional abuse by someone close to them, and the smallest part of the sample (22%) experiencing child physical abuse by someone with whom they were not close. The results of the linear regressions showed that both experiencing and witnessing trauma were significantly associated with trauma symptoms for CSA survivors. These results suggest that both types of victimization (experiencing and witnessing) need to be treated as direct traumas, and a more holistic approach toward survivors of CSA is needed toward assessment and treatment.
ISSN:1552-6518
DOI:10.1177/0886260518807913