title: Is adaptive coping possible for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse?
abstract: Thirty adult women survivors of childhood sexual abuse who believed they were functioning well were selected through advertisements in local newspapers and presentations at an incest-survivor support group. Subjects were assessed by a battery of structured diagnostic interviews and standardized psychological measures, including the MMPI, the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. The results showed the existence of a subgroup of survivors of childhood sexual abuse who do not have devastating long-term psychological effects. Better adult psychological functioning was predicted by certain characteristics of the abuse, the family system, and the survivors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Binder
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: McNiel
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Goldstone
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy