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Predicting resilience in sexually abused adolescents
Javonda Williams1, Debra Nelson-Gardell
1University of Alabama, School of Social Work, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314, USA.
Child Abuse & Neglect
|January 24, 2012
Summary
School engagement and caregiver support significantly predict resilience in sexually abused adolescents. Focusing on environmental factors alongside individual support can enhance adolescent recovery from sexual victimization.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Child Development
Background:
- Sexual abuse significantly impacts adolescent well-being.
- Resilience is a critical factor in adolescent recovery from trauma.
- Bronfenbrenner's Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) ecological model provides a framework for understanding developmental influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors predicting resilience in sexually abused adolescents.
- To examine proximal and distal factors influencing adolescent reactions to sexual victimization.
- To apply the PPCT ecological model to understand resilience in this population.
Main Methods:
- Correlational study utilizing hierarchical regression analysis.
- Cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being Wave I (NSCAW).
- Sample size of 237 adolescents.
Main Results:
- School engagement was a significant predictor of resilience.
- Caregiver social support emerged as a key protective factor.
- Hope, expectancy, caregiver education, and socioeconomic status (SES) also predicted resilience.
Conclusions:
- Environmental factors, particularly school engagement and caregiver support, play a crucial role in adolescent resilience.
- Interventions should integrate individual change strategies with environmental factor modifications.
- Emphasizing the contextual environment can improve support systems for adolescent survivors of sexual abuse.
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