Writtings of sexually abused children : an important source of disclosure
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Date
2002
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore and uncover the levels of stress and emotional difficulties of victims of sexual abuse through their written narratives.
The study involved five females who had been recently sexually abused and had sought assistance at the Empangeni Crisis Centre.
In the present study, the researcher used purposive sampling in selecting the research respondents. Data was collected in a series of individual interviews during which individual assessments were also done. All interviews with the subjects were conducted in Zulu in order to avoid any misunderstanding. Qualitative data analysis was used to analyze the thematic content of the narratives to uncover the themes, attitudes, fears and hopes.
The following conclusions were drawn from the study:
• The written narratives of sexually abused children proved to be an important and a rich source of understanding the experiences of victims of sexual abuse.
• Thoughts and feelings experienced by the research respondents including amongst others, loss of trust, anger, guilt, hatred, depression, helplessness and loss of self-
esteem are not different from those expressed by individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most participants in this research were victims of incest. This finding confirms the work of Nevid et al., (2000) that the great majority .of assailants had some prior relationship with the child. The present study strongly implicates abuse by a parent figure, a factor also supported by the findings of Cahill, Llewelyn and Pearson (1991).
In the light of the above-findings, the researcher recommends that a great deal of research is needed to enable us to understand the mechanism, processes, conditions and the many other variables in operation in the development of the kinds of problems which have been identified in children who are victims of sexual abuse.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002.
Keywords
Child sexual abuse, Sexually abused children-rehabilitation, Sexually abused children--Psychology