The Influence of Religion on Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Cynthia Doxey · Larry Cyril Jensen

34 citations0/0 files storedInternational Journal for the Psychology of Religion

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Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology Child Abuse and Trauma Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies

Abstract

Survey responses of 5,417 women were studied to obtain information about childhood sexual abuse, religion, and mental health. There were 653 (13%) who reported being sexually abused while growing up. When studying those who were sexually abused, it was found that this childhood experience was associated with less emotional maturity, lower self-esteem, more instability in their relationships with partners, and higher levels of depression. The highest scores on the mental health indicators were found for women who were not abused and highly religious, then highly religious and abused, and the lower scores for no abuse and low religiosity, low religiosity and abuse, and medium religiosity and abuse. These findings were interpreted as demon- strating that religion could help ameliorate negative mental health outcomes associ- ated with childhood sexual abuse.

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References

1994Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse 1990Early and long-term effects of child sexual abuse: An update.1994Immediate and Long-Term Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse 1993Resilience factors associated with female survivors of childhood sexual abuse 1979Childhood molestation: Variables related to differential impacts on psychosexual functioning in adult women.1986Suicidal thoughts and behaviours in former sexual abuse victims.1988Healing the incest wound 1965Female Child Victims of Sex Offenses

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2018Childhood sexual abuse, mental health, and religion across the Jewish community 2021Childhood Sexual Abuse, Spirituality/Religion, Anxiety and Depression in a Jewish Community Sample: the Mediating Role of Religious Coping 2020My God, why have you abandoned me? Sexual abuse and attitudes towards God among Orthodox Jews

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