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Survivors’ lived experiences of posttraumatic growth after institutional childhood abuse: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Institutional childhood abuse (ICA) represents a chronic and severe form of childhood maltreatment and is associated with a host of adverse outcomes. However, there is some evidence to suggest that survivors can also experience positive psychological change after institutional childhood abuse and neglect. OBJECTIVE: To examine the lived experiences of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in adult survivors of institutional childhood abuse. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Nine survivors of historical institutional abuse in Ireland ranging in age from 41 to 75 years (M = 60.5). METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore survivors' experiences of positive change after institutional upbringing. Data were analysed in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). RESULTS: The analysis yielded two superordinate themes. The first major theme, 'Survivor Identity' described participant's subjective understanding of their survivorship through five subthemes. The second major theme, 'Engendering Growth' comprised seven subthemes which collectively identified key factors and processes related to positive change and posttraumatic growth after significant early-life maltreatment. CONCLUSIONS: Findings underscore the importance of supporting survivors to construct a comprehensive self-narrative that identifies their personal strengths and growthful experiences, whilst also acknowledging the continued distress associated with their unique survivorship trajectory.
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A person experiencing trauma, by processing it cognitively and sharing experiences with others, reconstructs new narratives that can be integrated with existing schemas; trauma survivors describe deeper self-knowledge, resulting in a strong 'survivor identity' and strengthened sense of self.
“Osoba doświadczająca traumy, przetwarzając ją poznawczo idzieląc się zinnymi przeżyciami, dokonuje rekonstrukcji inowych narracji, które może zintegrować zistniejącymi schematami. Osoby, które przeżyły traumę, opisują doświadczenia głębszego poznania siebie, co skutkuje silną 'tożsamością ocalałego' iwzmocnionym poczuciem siebie [11].”
From Does it only benefit the patient? Potentially positive impact of psychotherapy of traumatized people — on the therapist (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMany factors are associated with the development of VPTG in helpers, especially therapists: empathy, optimism, job satisfaction, sense of coherence, resilience, engagement in self-care, personal therapy, higher compassion satisfaction, and higher self-compassion.
“Wiele czynników powiązanych jest zrozwojem VPTG uosób pomagających, awszczególności uterapeutów [11, 19]: zdolność do empatii, optymizm, satysfakcja zpracy, poczucie koherencji, odporność, zaangażowanie wsamoopiekę, terapia osobista, wyższa satysfakcja ze współczucia iwyższe współczucie dla siebie.”
From Does it only benefit the patient? Potentially positive impact of psychotherapy of traumatized people — on the therapist (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
The Discussion describes empathy and helping others as experiences of survivors of institutional childhood abuse, not as factors associated with vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) in helpers or therapists. Searches for VPTG and the listed therapist-related factors found no passage in our copy addressing that association. (LLM, conf=0.74)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFrom a literature review, similar changes were noted in psychotherapists, social workers, and support workers, indicating a universal type of change.
“Zprzeglądu literatury [11] wynika, że podobne zmiany odnotowano wgrupie psychoterapeutów, pracowników socjalnych czy pracowników wsparcia, co wskazuje na uniwersalny typ zmiany.”
From Does it only benefit the patient? Potentially positive impact of psychotherapy of traumatized people — on the therapist (2025) · cites this paper as [11]
Section 1.2, “Posttraumatic growth” (page unavailable), reviews positive changes among people who experienced various traumas, while section 3.2.4, “Important others” (page unavailable), describes therapists helping survivors change. Neither passage reports similar changes experienced by psychotherapists, social workers, or support workers. Searches for those professional groups and for a universal type of change found no passage addressing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.73)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Sachdeva, J., & Shukla, R. (2026) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941241302318 · Cited by 7
Sterna, W. (2025) · Psychoterapia · doi:10.12740/pt/200100 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Sheridan, G., & Carr, A.
- Affiliations
- University College Dublin (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Sheridan, Grace
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-05
- Volume
- 103
- Pages
- 104430
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3010569927
- Cited by
- 47
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 1.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Military, Security, and Education Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- posttraumatic growth, child abuse survivors, child abuse, survivor identity, self-narrative, positive psychological change, Ireland
- MeSH terms
- Posttraumatic Growth, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Child, Child Abuse, Child, Institutionalized, Female, Humans, Ireland, Male, Middle Aged, Survivors, Qualitative Research, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
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