Child sexual abuse, disclosure and PTSD: A systematic and critical review
Abstract
Background Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent exposure with potentially serious, negative health consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its symptomatology.Objective To conduct a systematic and critical review in order to investigate the relationship between CSA disclosure patterns and PTSD.Participants and setting Studies included clinical, college and community-based samples of adults' and children's experiences of CSA.Methods We conducted systematic searches in five databases (Medline, Embase, PyscINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts) from database inception to October 17, 2017 using index terms and keywords for CSA, disclosure, and PTSD. We included any English-language, primary studies involving children or adults with experiences of CSA that used quantitative research designs to explore the relationship between disclosure and PTSD. We used systematic critical review methodology in order to investigate the relationship between disclosure and PTSD symptoms and disorders. We also investigated factors that explained the relationship between disclosure and PTSD, such as individual, exposure or environmental factors.Results Twenty-two articles reporting 20 studies were included in this review. Studies assessing the relationship between CSA and PTSD tended to account for personal (e.g., gender) and CSA exposure variables (e.g., severity of CSA) only. While authors generally used validated measures to assess for PTSD symptoms and disorders, they tended to use author-generated or unvalidated measures to assess for disclosure process variables.Conclusion The relationship between factors that affect disclosure, and responses to disclosure, are not well theorized in quantitative literature. Study findings suggest important avenues for future research, such as the need to assess disclosure longitudinally.
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Negative disclosure experiences may harm victims' well-being.
“Further, they may also harm victims’ well-being (McTavish et al., 2019).”
From Why They Speak Up (or Don’t): Reasons For and Against Cybergrooming Disclosure Among Adolescent Victims (2025) · cites this paper as McTavish et al., 2019
Reactions to disclosure that are perceived as negative can harm the victim's well-being beyond the victimization itself.
“It is crucial to prevent such responses, as reactions to disclosure that are perceived as negative can harm the victim’s well-being beyond the victimization itself (Easton, 2019; McTavish et al., 2019).”
From Why They Speak Up (or Don’t): Reasons For and Against Cybergrooming Disclosure Among Adolescent Victims (2025) · cites this paper as McTavish et al., 2019
Disclosure can initiate therapeutic intervention and has the potential to mitigate adverse mental health outcomes of sexual victimization.
“Further, disclosure can initiate therapeutic intervention if indicated and has the potential to mitigate adverse mental health outcomes of sexual victimization (e.g., McTavish et al., 2019).”
From Why They Speak Up (or Don’t): Reasons For and Against Cybergrooming Disclosure Among Adolescent Victims (2025) · cites this paper as McTavish et al., 2019
Research suggested that disclosure and the trusted person's reaction can play an important role in mitigating the negative consequences of sexual victimization.
“Research suggested that disclosure and the trusted person's reaction can play an important role in mitigating the negative consequences of sexual victimization (e.g., McTavish et al., 2019; Ullman, 2002).”
From Cybergrooming Victimization Among Young People: A Systematic Review of Prevalence Rates, Risk Factors, and Outcomes (2025) · cites this paper as McTavish et al., 2019
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- Authors
- McTavish, J. R., Sverdlichenko, I., MacMillan, H. L., & Wekerle, C.
- Affiliations
- McMaster University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- McTavish, Jill R.
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-06
- Volume
- 92
- Pages
- 196-208
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2939867362
- Cited by
- 81
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 9.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Military, Security, and Education Studies
- Keywords
- child sexual abuse, disclosure, post-traumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress symptoms, disclosure process, abuse severity, gender differences, trauma exposure
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Female, Humans, Male, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Prevalence, Disclosure
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