NCJ Number
214655
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: 2006 Pages: 1-28
Date Published
2006
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study examined differences between two groups of sexually abused adolescent girls in the foster care system--those identified as having resilient trajectories and those identified as experiencing clinically significant mental health and behavioral problems--in terms of the impact of several protective factors.
Abstract
Overall, results indicated that the girls with resilient trajectories were significantly different from the girls who were currently symptomatic in terms of education, future orientation, and peer influence. Specifically, girls who exhibited resiliency to childhood sexual abuse were less likely to fight with other students and teachers and were more certain of their educational plans for both high school and college. Resilient girls were also more optimistic about their futures and were more likely to socialize with peers who engaged in positive behaviors. Participants were 99 sexually abused adolescent girls in foster care settings who were involved in a larger research project designed to evaluate an HIV prevention and life skills program. Participants completed a series of questionnaires assessing the severity and type of child maltreatment, current mental health and behavioral problems, resilience, demographic and background living situation, and a number of theoretically relevant protective factors including future orientation, family support, education, peer influence, and religion. Data analysis techniques included multiple regression analyses and the Wald chi-square statistic. Future research should utilize a longitudinal design to examine the underlying processes facilitating resiliency in sexually abused girls. Tables, references