Drawing a connection from victim to victimizer.
1. The biological basis of the altered alarm/dissociative process during and after sexual trauma impedes the development of information processing essential for discerning intention, personal responsibility, sense of control over events, and trust in others. 2. Once this imbalance occurs, the child is restricted in developing cognitive schema to deal with interpersonal intimacy. This in turn results in secondary patterns of aggressiveness or avoidance. 3. The implication of this biological understanding of trauma and information processing for treatment underscores the necessity of reducing arousal, thus lessening the dissociative process. Drawings of the criminal act and the victim experience elicit cues connecting the two events, facilitating an increase in personal control over repeated aggressive acts.
Burgess
A W
AW
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia 19104-6096.
Hartman
C R
CR
Grant
C A
CA
Clover
C L
CL
Snyder
W
W
King
L A
LA
D000293:Adolescent; D001155:Art Therapy; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology