Citation

Alix S, Cossette L, Cyr M, Frappier JY, Caron PO, Hébert M. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538712.2019.1678543

PMID

31692417

Abstract

Depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation are among the most prevalent problems associated with sexual abuse. Based on the Traumagenic dynamic of stigmatization model, the aim of this study was to investigate whether self-blame, shame, and maladaptive coping strategies predicted posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among sexually abused adolescent girls using a longitudinal design. A total of 100 adolescent girls completed a series of questionnaires at the initial visit at the intervention center (T1) and 6 months later (T2). Path analysis reveals shame at T1 predicted posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms at T2 whereas self-blame at T1 predicted depressive symptoms at T2. Furthermore, avoidance coping at T1 and depressive symptoms at T2 predicted suicidal ideation at T2 and accounted for 54% of the variance. These findings suggest that interventions designed for sexually abused adolescent girls should target shame, self-blame, and avoidance coping to foster recovery in this vulnerable population.

Language: en

Keywords

Child sexual abuse; PTSD; adolescent girls; avoidance; coping strategies; depression; self-blame; shame; suicidal ideation