NCJ Number
177980
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: 1996 Pages: 35-63
Date Published
1996
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This article reviews research into family-of-origin variables and adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Abstract
The article examines findings related to family-of-origin variables, including concomitant physical and emotional abuse, and long-term effects in samples of adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. It also addresses the contribution of family variables, such as disturbed interaction patterns, in producing vulnerability to later distress in that population and the clinical implications of the emerging findings related to the variables. Several tentative conclusions can be drawn from this review: (1) Sexual abuse survivors retrospectively perceive their families of origin as more disturbed than do individuals who were not sexually abused, even when the abuse occurred outside the family; (2) Family-of-origin dynamics and all forms of maltreatment are important factors in understanding the adult experiences of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse; (3) Severity of abuse and presence of two or more types of maltreatment play a role in producing adult vulnerability to disturbance; and (4) Sexual abuse experiences may contribute to specific symptomatology in adulthood even when the abuse itself does not seem to produce generalized disturbance above that accounted for by family functioning. Tables, references