TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the Moderating Role of Childhood Attachment for the Relationship between Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Attachment
AU - Shen, Fei
AU - Soloski, Kristy L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022.
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - Purpose: Child sexual abuse (CSA) has short-term and long-term effects on survivors, but distress after the abuse varies widely and not all survivors show a significant degree of distress. Factors contributing to the variations of CSA outcomes need to be further investigated. The present study examines the moderating role of childhood attachment in the relationship between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem. Methods: Seven hundred and sixty-seven adults participated in this study, of which 427 (55.67%) reported a history of CSA. Participants were recruited from various social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist, discussion board, university announcement board). To examine the moderating role of childhood attachment between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, we conducted path analysis. Results: Childhood attachment significantly predicted adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem in adulthood and moderated the relation between CSA and anxious adult attachment; CSA survivors with more secure childhood attachment were less likely to develop anxious attachment in adulthood. Additionally, CSA survivors reported less secure adult attachment, more psychological distress, and lower self-esteem than did individuals without a history of CSA. Furthermore, secure childhood attachment was significantly associated with secure adult attachment, lower levels of psychological distress, and higher levels of self-esteem. Conclusions: The results suggested that secure childhood attachment at least partially protected against negative long-term effects of CSA and fostered healthier intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment in CSA survivors.
AB - Purpose: Child sexual abuse (CSA) has short-term and long-term effects on survivors, but distress after the abuse varies widely and not all survivors show a significant degree of distress. Factors contributing to the variations of CSA outcomes need to be further investigated. The present study examines the moderating role of childhood attachment in the relationship between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem. Methods: Seven hundred and sixty-seven adults participated in this study, of which 427 (55.67%) reported a history of CSA. Participants were recruited from various social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist, discussion board, university announcement board). To examine the moderating role of childhood attachment between the experience of CSA and adult attachment, we conducted path analysis. Results: Childhood attachment significantly predicted adult attachment, psychological distress, and self-esteem in adulthood and moderated the relation between CSA and anxious adult attachment; CSA survivors with more secure childhood attachment were less likely to develop anxious attachment in adulthood. Additionally, CSA survivors reported less secure adult attachment, more psychological distress, and lower self-esteem than did individuals without a history of CSA. Furthermore, secure childhood attachment was significantly associated with secure adult attachment, lower levels of psychological distress, and higher levels of self-esteem. Conclusions: The results suggested that secure childhood attachment at least partially protected against negative long-term effects of CSA and fostered healthier intrapersonal and interpersonal adjustment in CSA survivors.
KW - Attachment
KW - Child sexual abuse
KW - Psychological distress
KW - Self-esteem
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141401888&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10896-022-00456-9
DO - 10.1007/s10896-022-00456-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85141401888
SN - 0885-7482
VL - 39
SP - 347
EP - 357
JO - Journal of Family Violence
JF - Journal of Family Violence
IS - 3
ER -