NCJ Number
112096
Journal
Psychotherapy Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 99-106
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The present study examined Rorschach protocols of 3 groups of girls: 37 sexaully abused before their ninth birthday, 43 sexaully abused after their ninth birthday, and 72 clinic patients with no history of abuse.
Abstract
The two abused groups did not differ significantly in the rate of abuse, number of perpetrators, use of force, or victim age at time of testing. Five Rorschach variables were found reliably to distinguish between the early and late abuse onset groups. The pattern of group differences indicated that over half of the early-abused victims manifested a preoedipal form of pathology characterized by disturbed cognition, damaged self, and preoccupation with themes of primitive supply and transitional relatedness. Only 12 percent of the late-abused subjects displayed this pattern. Results suggest that projective tests can play an important role in the detection of individuals with regressed preoedipal pathology, permitting them to be assigned to optimally effective interventions. Results also indicate that age of onset of sexual abuse contributes to qualitative differences in the pathology associated with it. 3 tables and 30 references. (Author abstract modified)