NCJ Number
193391
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 82-86
Date Published
February 2002
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article assesses the importance of abuse-related and more general attributions in symptom formation and persistence following child sexual or physical abuse.
Abstract
Researchers are devoting more attention to the issue of abuse-related attributions because it is believed that the meaning the child makes of the abuse is as important as the characteristics of the abuse in determining the impact on the child. Also, children’s attributions are amenable to revision through therapeutic interventions. One of the most important messages this research gives is that it is important for therapists to assess children’s and parents’ abuse-related attributions systematically. Several instruments are helpful in assessing abuse-related attributions, particularly because they are relatively brief and have been subjected to rigorous psychometric evaluation. Self-blame and perpetrator blame can coexist and appear to be independent of one another. External blame may occur related to others than the perpetrator, specifically mothers. Children’s unrealistic self-blame predicts poorer outcome, regardless of their perpetrator attributions. Powerlessness is an important dynamic contributing to the traumatic impact of child abuse. It is important for therapists to explore specifically and correct attributions about power, or powerlessness, following abuse. This may be particularly important when treating physically abused children, who demonstrate gender-specific power attributions. Shame mediates the relationship between negative attributions and poor outcome. It is important to assess shame accurately and to devise interventions that counter the development and maintenance of this internal state. Children are more willing to express internal attributions when completing a self-report instrument than when asked open-ended questions. Cognitive processing therapy and exposure therapy are each effective by themselves in decreasing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other symptoms. 1 note, 16 references