Social Reactions to Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures: A Critical Review

• NCJ Number: 203492
• Journal: Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 89-121
• Author(s): Sarah E. Ullman
• Editor(s): Robert Geffner Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents a literature review on disclosure and reactions to adult survivors to assess what is known about the process of disclosure and whether telling others is therapeutic and leads to positive outcomes.

Abstract

Recent studies have examined disclosure of child sexual abuse to determine the correlates and consequences of telling others about this form of victimization. This article reviews the current empirical literature on disclosure and reactions to adult survivors to assess what is known about the process of disclosure and whether telling others is therapeutic and leads to positive outcomes. Most studies assessing social reactions in detail have concerned adult survivors retrospectively reporting on their disclosures of child sexual abuse. Few studies have been conducted in this area, yet research suggests that few victims tell anyone about child sexual abuse as children, and that the type of reactions to disclosure vary according to when disclosure occurs (childhood or adulthood), the extent and nature of the disclosure, and the person to whom one discloses. A variety of studies, using both clinical and non-clinical samples, documented a broad range of negative reactions to both child and adult disclosures of sexual abuse as well as significant harmful effects of negative reactions on various measures of psychosocial adjustment. However, better assessment of specific reactions and their effects are needed in theoretically-based studies to evaluate how these responses affect survivors’ recovery in the context of other variables. This review suggests that more research is needed in representative samples on the disclosure process and social reactions to CSA disclosures from both informal and formal support sources in order to facilitate treatment, intervention, and prevention efforts in this population. 2 tables and 109 references