The purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of twelve people who had been sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests. They wanted to determine whether the trauma they experienced carried characteristics that were distinct from sexual abuse by other perpetrators. The researchers also reviewed whether the characteristics from this unique trauma fell within the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) conceptual frameworks within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The participants were obtained from a support center for sexual abuse survivors based in the UK, and others contacted the researchers directly. The participants average age was 44 years old. The researchers utilized an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach for the study and conducted a two-part, semi-structured interview which was audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim.
The first part of the interview contained questions surrounding certain themes including descriptor of the stressor, re-experiencing phenomena, and impact on social and occupational levels of functioning. The second part of the interview was formatted as a questionnaire regarding other themes such as abuse characteristics, dynamics of the abuse, and spirituality. The data showed that the participants reported symptomology that are not covered by PTSD criteria nor the V codes included in the DSM-IV-TR. The results suggest that the sexual trauma these participants experienced is not sufficiently considered by the diagnosis of PTSD alone and needs further attention in order to properly address the idiosyncratic elements of extreme sexual situations.
The most appealing part of the study was that participants that had previously been diagnosed with PTSD were still currently experiencing the symptoms even though the onset of these symptoms were on average 26 years and 5 months prior. This study is useful in that it highlights a weakness held by the DSM criteria as well as supports the argument brought forth by postmodern perspectives. The convenience of grouping symptomology together has its limits as every experience is distinct and may not fit appropriately in its criteria. This study could be improved by interviewing other extreme cases of sexual abuse in order to discover other symptoms that have gone overlooked.
Gibson, K., & Morgan, M. (2013). growing up with child sexual abuse in an experimental commune: Making sense of narrative variation. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 23(4), 300–313. doi: 10.1002/casp.2122 This study aimed to recognize the variability in a person’s account regarding sexual abuse to emphasize the different factors that influence the shape of these stories. The researchers focused their study within an experimental residential commune called Centrepoint. It operated on the outskirts of Auckland, New Zealand between 1978 and 2000 and was well known for its allowance of open social relationships and sexuality, including sex between adults and children. Twenty-nine adults that were former children of Centrepoint agreed to take part in the study. The participants were comprised of 6 men and 23 women who ranged in age from early adulthood to middle age.
All of the participants belonged to the Centrepoint community as children and were no longer residents of this community. The researchers conducted narrative interviews in which they asked participants to describe their experiences at Centrepoint and its impact on their later lives. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Voice-Centered Relational Method. The results indicated an assortment of accounts with varying tones within each experience. Researchers identified that some of the differing perspectives of a participant’s account was contingent upon the social position it was viewed from. For example, one participant reflected on how the sexual acts between adults and children were not viewed as abuse within that community but recognized how his life after had unveiled a contrasting norm containing moral and legal boundaries between the encounters. The researchers acknowledge that from a legal standpoint pressure is applied for a consistent recount of a sexual assault experience but it should be argued that a certain degree of freedom should be allowed as narratives are shaped by psychological and social external factors.
This was an interesting study because it unapologetically challenged a forensic viewpoint of sexual assault victims and their narratives. It provided a logical argument for the variability seen in inconsistent recounts of an experience. This argument shares a similar quality with postmodernism in that it speaks of multiple realities that simultaneously exist. One way in which it could have been improved was to also interview the residents that were adults during Centrepoint’s operation.
Hanisch, D., & Moulding, N. (2011). Power, gender, and social work responses to child sexual abuse. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, 26(3), 278. The purpose of this study was to understand more about the ways social workers work with women who have experienced sexual abuse and the ways in which it can be improved. A total of ten female social workers were chosen from both governmental and nongovernmental women’s health services. Only seven of the ten participants were interviewed individuals which lasted between 60 and 90 minutes. A group interview was conducted with the remaining three participants which took 120 minutes. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The dominant theme of the interviews comprised of their conceptualizations regarding child sexual abuse and its effects on women. Discussions about other topics such as power and gender also emerged. Discourse analysis was used to analyze the data in order to understand the participants approach to practice through language.
The data showed two common themes: normalizing the effects of child sexual abuse and gender power in practice. The participants discussed how they took advantage of the power of language and normalized the effects of abuse in order to avoid pathologizing clients. These efforts shared similar qualities to the foundational concepts of Narrative therapy and other strengths based approaches that emphasize on how the problem does not lie within a person but is instead externalized. The second theme concerning gender power consisted of being aware of the patriarchal society they are surrounded by and what that means to them as women. The discussions also recognized the complexities that arise when shifting between feminism and post-structuralism and how the social workers may be able to balance the two standpoints in their work.
This study took a neat approach by interviewing the social workers that are actually working with the clients. It gave the study a distinctive angle at the therapeutic process of sexual abuse. The interview process could have been improved by including male social workers or by selecting participants that had previously worked with male victims of sexual abuse. This would have provided an uncommon lens to look through. This would be useful in the field of psychology by further supporting the data that surrounds postmodern approaches. Challenging the medical model and externalizing sexual abuse as separate from the client is an invaluable approach
Phasha, T., & Myaka, L. (2014). Sexuality and sexual abuse involving teenagers with intellectual disability: Community conceptions in a rural village of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Sexuality & Disability, 32(2), 153-165. doi: 10/1007/s11195-014-9344-x. The purpose of this study was to understand people’s perspectives on the underlying influences of sexual abuse towards teenagers with intellectual disability. According to the study, misconceptions on the degree of sexuality of a person with intellectual disability place them at a disadvantage. Sexual abuse towards this population has been seen to occur at a higher rate than their counterparts. A total of seventeen participants were recruited by theoretical and convenient sampling and were a part of the KwaZulu-Natal community.
Individual interviews were conducted and lasted between 60 to 90 minutes. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The participants all noted prominent factors that contributed to sexual abuse towards people with intellectual disability. Some of these factors included having a high sex drive, perceived ability to cure disease, feel no pain, and possessed unusual powers. Conceptions regarding powers and spirits is part of the Zulu community and traditional healers are highly respected. The researchers noted that this aspect of their culture played a significant role in the participants responses. They concluded that these viewpoints were detrimental to the integrity of a person with intellectual disability and suggested ways in which the sexualized stereotypes could be eradicated.
I enjoyed this study because it examined sexual abuse within a non-Western environment. This highlights the importance that intersectionality and multiculturalism can play within the study of psychology. This study could be improved by also interviewing the victims of sexual abuse, both with an intellectual disability and without, to view their responses towards the abuse and contributing factors.
Rudolph, J., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2018). Parents as protectors: A qualitative study of parents’ views on child sexual abuse prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 85, 28–38. Doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.016. The aim of this study was to examine the parental understanding towards child sexual abuse (CSA) and prevention methods. According to the study, there is a shortage of literature that considers the parents’ views on how they can contribute to CSA education and prevention. The participants were recruited by flyers that were placed at a primary school and at a child-focused psychology clinic located in a university in Australia. In total seventeen mothers and seven fathers were interviewed individually for an hour. The interviews consisted of open-ended questions regarding several topics including parental desire for more information and/or resources, CSA risk factors, and parental roles in prevention. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim.
The data was analyzed in accordance to thematic analysis to gain rich and authentic description of the content. The data showed parents possessing a good understanding of CSA but had mixed responses when discussing the frequency of education they provided their children. Some parents explained how they doubted the effect that education would have on safeguarding their children and others discussed how they did not perceive their child as high risk. There was a general consensus that maintaining a quality relationship between the parent and child acts as a protective factor for CSA. Overall, the researchers found that parents used alternative strategies to educate and protect their children from CSA. They also suggested ways in which programs could be formatted to provide parents with more direct ways in which they could facilitate education and prevention.
This study was interesting because it emphasized on prevention of CSA. It was an eye-opening discussion on the actual degree of parental efforts and their rationale for their leniency towards prevention education. This study would be beneficial to the field of psychology because it would help create proactive strategies for parents to use in CSA prevention. This study could have been improved by conducting a second interview on the parents’ experiences after providing their children with CSA prevention education.
Salazar, M., Goicolea, I., & Öhman, A. (2016). Respectable, disreputable, or rightful? Young Nicaraguan women’s discourses on femininity, intimate partner violence, and sexual abuse: A Grounded Theory situational analysis. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 25(3), 315–332. Doi: 10.1080/10926771.2015.1081662. The purpose of this study was to identify Nicaraguan womens’ discourses held in regard to femininities, male intimate partner violence (IPV), and men’s sexual violence towards women (SA). The participants were comprised of fifty-nine women that were invited to participate by their local community leaders. The median age was 22 years and ranged from 15 to 31 years and half of the women had a high school education or less. Four focus group discussions were formed and were guided by a semi-structured interview format.
The interview/discussions included open-ended questions, hypothetical questions, and short oral vignettes which included themes such as femininity, masculinity, gender relations, IPV and SA from non-partners. All discussions were recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. The data was analyzed using grounded theory situational analysis and identified three prominent discourses. The most dominant theme identified from the coded data was an “ambivalent modern femininity social world” which rejects the traditional concept of femininity as being submissive and passive and instead constructs it as independent and strong. This position also overlaps with the “pro-women’s right resistance social world’s discourse,” in which empowerment and gender inequities are its main focus. The last theme identified was the “contested traditional femininity social world’s discourse” in which femininity was portrayed with the traditional standards of beauty, empathy, respectfulness, and service to others. All themes varied on the level of tolerance of IPV and SA. The results indicate that although there are varying discourses held within the Nicaraguan community by women, there is a shift towards autonomy and equality.
It was interesting to see how the common themes were found between each of the four discussion groups. This study could be improved by inviting men into the discussion groups to help bring further diversify the context of the discussions.
Salter, M. (2012). The role of ritual in the organized abuse of children. Child Abuse Review, 21(6), 440–451. Doi: 10.1002/car.2215. The purpose of this study was to analyze the range of circumstances of ritual sexual abuse of children. In this study, organized abuse was determined as one or more minors being sexually abused by two or more adults acting in concert, where at least one adult is not residing in the same household as the child or is not a member of the same family. In 2008, individuals over the age of 18 with a history of organized abuse were invited to participate in the study. Twenty-one people were recruited which included sixteen women and five men. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by asking the participants to speak about their lives from childhood to present day.
Of the 21 participants, 16 described their experiences of ritual abuse along with other forms of abuse including child prostitution, exploitation, and violence. A frequent topic that surfaced was that of self-identity. The participants described their experience as learning a range of religious or metaphysical ideologies in order to understand the practices taking place. Much of their roles in these rituals were determined by their abusers which usually took the form of a patriarchal position. These results show how these extreme forms of sexual abuse held enough power to legitimize and justify its practices. It also highlights how these forms of sexual abuse can take on complex and diverse forms.
This study was a gripping study to read about because it included a type of abuse that is not normally discussed. It helped reify a foreign and almost theatrical abuse. This study could be useful in the realm of psychology by identifying varying ways in which sexual abuse can be viewed. One way this study could be improved is by comparing the responses given by victims of other forms of sexual abuse and comparing common themes.
Welfare, A. (2008). How qualitative research can inform clinical interventions in families recovering from sibling sexual abuse. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 29(3), 139–147. Doi: 10.1375/anft.29.3.139 The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of all family members when sibling sexual abuse is disclosed. Twenty-one families were selected to participate in the study after a five-year recruitment process due to the sensitivity of the problem. In all, 19 victims, six mothers and five fathers, five offending brothers and four siblings were interviewed. All were interviewed individually for the exception of three victim group interviews and two joint interviews with parent couples. All victims were female and all offenders were male. The length of the interviews ranged from one to four hours.
All interviews were records and transcribed verbatim. The data was analyzed in accordance to the more recent constructivist method of grounded theory using the NVIVO computer program for qualitative analysis. Each part of the system was analyzed and a pathway for recovery was determined. Each person within the family played a particular role within the recovery process. For example, the theme of accountability emerged as necessary for the offender to uphold and each person played a significant role to help this step take place. The results indicate that the central goal was to reunify the family unit and a parent’s connectedness and care for the victim was a major determinant of the level of recovery.
This study was appealing because it utilized a holistic approach when viewing the recovery process for sexual abuse victims. It was also interesting that the research was concerning an uncommon type of sexual abuse. This is useful in the field of psychology because it depicts how other parts of the system are affected when it comes to experiencing a traumatic event.
