A Preliminary Quantitative Analysis of Men's Brief Childhood Sexual Abuse Narratives and Emotion Regulation

There remains a need to better understand childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among men, given its prevalence and harmful impacts. This preliminary study examined the information in men's brief, 30-s CSA narratives, which were constructed for a neuroimaging component of a larger project comparing psychological outcomes for men with and without CSA histories. We also explored men's emotion regulation following construction of the CSA narrative and its links with information in the narrative. Twenty-one cis-gender men with CSA histories were recruited from the community. Their average age was 40.9 years (range 25-59), and the majority were White, employed, partnered, and without biological children. Men provided a brief CSA account that was audio-recorded and transcribed. Following the narrative construction, men also completed the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. The transcripts were quantitatively coded for the presence of sexual abuse descriptors, CSA-related emotions, and content around responsibility. Men provided rich information, with most including details about perpetrator gender, sexual acts, abuse location, and feelings about the abuse. There was little to no mention of CSA duration, disclosure, feelings toward the perpetrator, and responsibility (although some mentioned the perpetrator's responsibility). Greater information in the narratives was associated with greater self-reported emotional awareness and better emotion regulation. While preliminary and largely descriptive, the findings point to the importance of creating emotionally safe and gender-sensitive opportunities for men to share their CSA experiences, with a focus on supporting difficult topics related to disclosure, responsibility, and the harms associated with masculinity norms (especially regarding emotional expression).