Factors influencing children to self-disclose sexual abuse

“Regardless of a child’s gender, studies consistently indicate that the victim–perpetrator relationship in cases of CSA is most often a familiar one (Berliner & Conte, 1995; Elliott et al., 1995; Faller, 1989; Finkelhor et al., 1990; Gomes-Schwartz et al., 1990; Ligezinska, Firestone, et al., 1996; Sorenson & Snow, 199…”

“…role are less likely to disclose immediately or at all in childhood/adolescence because of obvious power differentials and dependency needs (Collings et al., 2005; Dumont et al., 2014; Hershkowitz et al., 2005; Kogan, 2004; Leclerc & Wortley, 2015; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Schaeffer et al., 2011).”

“disturbing numbers of children deny their sexual victimization even in the face of compelling evidence to the contrary” (Paine & Hansen, 2002, p. 290); and “Investigations of abuse have frequently been impeded when children fail to disclose abuse, deny abuse that has occurred, or recant a prior disclosure” ( Paine & H…”

“CSA includes a broad range of behaviors, which can be perpetrated across a broad range of intrafamilial and extrafamilial relationships, and there is considerable variability in the duration and frequency of the abuse (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Paine and Hansen (2002) concluded in their literature review that alongside a complex interplay between multifaceted internal and Barriers and Facilitators to Disclosure 6 external factors, cognitive and developmental barriers are important drivers in children and adolescents’ decisions to withhold…”

“Disclosure is a delicate and sensitive process that is influenced by several factors, including implicit or explicit pressure for secrecy, feelings of responsibility or blame, feelings of shame or embarrassment, or fear of negative consequences [2,19,20].”

“Even when children do disclose, they may confront unexpected negative consequences including not being believed, being blamed and facing the breakup of their family (Paine & Hansen, 2002 ).”

“More recent research reveals that children often delay reporting abuse and that disclosure is related to caregiver support, but mixed support has emerged concerning the proposition that being closely related to a perpetrator is associated with delayed reporting (see London et al., 2005; Lyon, 2002; Paine and Hansen, 2…”

“This is an important phenomenon, since nearly one-third of the sample lacked awareness of their sexual Discussion earlier research (Devoe & Faller, 1999; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…or blame (Lyon, 2002; Sjöberg & Lindblad, 2002), feel ashamed or embarrassed (Lyon, 1995; Saywitz, Goodman, Nicholas, & Moan, 1991), or fear threatened or imagined negative outcomes (Berliner & Conte, 1995; DeYoung, 1988; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant, & Loughlin, 1999).”

“The belief that children who are being abused would immediately disclose the abuse to their parents or to someone else is contradicted by evidence that victims of CSA commonly do not disclose the abuse (e.g., Paine & Hansen, 2002; Priebe & Svedin, 2008).”

“…reactions or tolerate some negative reactions in the hopes of getting at least some support from others (see Bolen, 2002; 90 JOURNAL OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE Elliott & Carnes, 2001; Paine & Hansen, 2002 for recent reviews of studies on childhood disclosure of sexual abuse and responses of others).”

“In a recent review, Paine and Hansen (2002) have identified a range of contextual factors (e.g., presence of the abuser in the home) and motivational factors (e.g., embarrassment, shame) that have been shown to inhibit self-disclosure of sexual abuse among children and adolescents.”

“Telling someone about the sexual abuse can, in theory, lead to a cessation of the abuse, prosecution of the abuser, and connection to mental health services for the survivor (Paine and Hansen 2002).”

“Reviews of studies investigating disclosure (Paine & Hansen, 2002; Pipe, Lamb, Orbach, & Cederborg, 2007) have identified older age, being male, experiencing more severe abuse, and being abused by a family member as risk factors for delay in disclosing experiences of childhood sexual abuse.”

“…us tr al ia n N at io na l U ni ve rs ity ] at 0 1: 00 0 4 Ja nu ar y 20 15 Patrick J. O’Leary and James Barber 135 A recent review of research by Paine and Hansen (2002) showed that the rate of nondisclosure among boys increases with age, leading these and other authors to suggest that boys…”

“Boys are generally less willing to report than girls (48 percent vs. 76 percent; Nofziger and Stein 2006) and adolescent boys might be least likely to tell someone (Paine and Hansen 2002).”

“…less than a third of sexually victimized children and adolescents disclose the abuse to somebody within 24 hr. Consistent with clinical experience (Paine & Hansen, 2002) and previous findings from quantitative research (Hershkowitz et al., 2007; Kogan, 2004), the majority of participants…”

“…abuse shortly after victimization will tend to have healthier levels of later psychosocial functioning than nondisclosers and delayed disclosers (Paine & Hansen, 2002), evidence to date—although limited—has not provided strong support for this hypothesis (McNulty 62 CHILD MALTREATMENT, Vol. 9,…”

“Before the child recognizes the situation as sexual or inappropriate, the abuse is often well under way (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Findings on the relationship of abuse duration and frequency, which may also be related to severity, to disclosure are similarly mixed (see Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Research also suggests that the sooner the abuse is discussed, versus simply told to someone else, the better the mental health outcome (Lamb & Edgar-Smith, 1994; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…with a large body of research worldwide (Collin-Vézina, De La SablonnièreGriffin, Palmer, & Milne, 2015; Fontes & Plummer, 2010; McElvaney, 2015; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Watts & Zimmerman, 2002), and there is little reason to assume barrier to disclosure elsewhere is different from the factors…”

“Many adults who were sexually abused when they were children recall that fear of negative evaluation was a powerful reason why they stayed silent about their abuse for as long as they did ( Paine & Hansen, 2002 ).”

“Children and adolescents reveal their experiences of CSA in only a minority of cases, often after repeated abuse over a period of years (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…people living with HIV who worry about the stigma associated with it (Greene & Faulkner, 2002), sexual abuse victims who fear blame and stigma (Paine & Hansen, 2002), and members of a university search committee who omit negative information when speaking publicly (Eisenberg, Murphy, &…”

“It is possible that those who fail to report maltreatment that was coded as present by the MCRAI may have forgotten the experiences, may not recognize the experience as maltreatment, or may be ashamed to disclose (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Subsequent reviews have con fi rmed many of Paine and Hansen's (2002) fi ndings, despite focusing on different populations (Alaggia et al., 2019; Lemaigre et al., 2017; London et al., 2007; McElvaney, 2015; Morrison et al., 2018; Reitsema and Grietens, 2016; Tener and Murphy, 2015).”

“Paine and Hansen (2002) found that perpetrators’ use of tactics that made victims fear for their or others’ lives deterred abuse disclosure, yet Hanson and colleagues (1999) found that perceptions of life threat and fear of physical injury were related to higher disclosure rates.”

“As reviewed by Paine and Hansen (2002), studies have yielded equivocal findings regarding gender and CSA disclosure.”

“Furthermore, there are findings revealing adolescents to be less likely to disclose than children (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…with much of the literature on disclosure and CSA, including the research literature that indicates children often do not disclose their abuse because of shame, isolation, fear, and the need to protect other family members (Alaggia, 2004; London et al., 2005; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Ullman, 2003).”

“Investigations involving severe injuries were classified as potentially requiring an urgent investigation given that such cases can lead to an escalating pattern of maltreatment and the importance of forensic evidence [46]; sexual abuse investigations were included as requiring an urgent investigation because of the i…”

“In future work, assessment of emotional approach tendencies, gender roles, and perceived reactions of others’ to CSA experiences may be helpful for understanding whether and why males might prefer avoidant CSA processing strategies (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“It is estimated that less than one in four CSA victims disclose to someone immediately following the abuse (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“, 2011) and fear of disclosure (Paine and Hansen, 2002) rather than true prevalence rates.”

“Prior research suggests that fewer than 1 in 4 survivors disclose immediately following abuse ( Paine & Hansen, 2002 ).”

“Notwithstanding the equivocal findings on clinical repercussions of early disclosure (Arata, 1998; Gomes-Schwartz, Horowitz, & Cardelli, 1990; Goodman-Brown et al., 2003; Lamb & Edgar-Smith, 1994; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Sas et al., 1995; Sauzier, 1989) the forensic implications of a very long delay are less equivocal.”

“Several factors affecting the disclosure of CSA, such as age at time of abuse and severity and frequency of abuse, have been addressed in recent reviews ( Paine & Hansen, 2002; Ullman & Filipas, 2005).”

“Past research shows great difficulties for children in self-disclosing abuse (Paine & Hansen, 2002) so assisting mothers to be responsive will enhance legal and therapeutic interventions.”

“Indeed, several studies have found that the rate of non-disclosure among boys increases with their age at the time of the abuse (Boudewyn and Liem 1995; Paine and Hansen 2002; Roesler and McKenzie 1994), whereas the opposite is the case for girls (Williams and Banyard 1997).”

“Disclosure may be less likely for boys because of fears of being labeled homosexual (Watkins & Bentovim, 1992), or the fear that they will become abusers as well as the belief that ‘‘boys do not get abused’’ (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“These underestimates may be related to co-occurrence of CSA with threats of harm to encourage non-disclosure, as well as low self-disclosure due to stigma and shame (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“The evidence is mixed in regards to the relationship between duration of abuse and victim disclosure (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“In addition, men disclose sexual abuse at significantly lower rates than females throughout the life course (O’Leary & Barber, 2008; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Young, Harford, Kinder, & Savell, 2007).”

“Indeed, several studies (e.g., Hanson, Resnick, Saunders, Kilpatrick, & Best, 1999; also see Paine & Hansen, 2002) indicate that children are less likely to report sexual abuse if the perpetrator is someone “close” to them (e.g., family member) than if the perpetrator is a stranger.”

“In addition, disclosure may be inhibited in families whose cultures hold taboos and negative attitudes about sexuality and that place a high premium on preservation of the family (Alaggia, 2001; Fontes, 1993; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…being a forbidden or frowned upon topic, and this may increase the reluctance of children to disclose their experiences (Chenier et al., 2021; Fontes & Plummer, 2010, 2012; Gilligan & Akhtar, 2006; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Sumampouw et al., 2020; see also Collin-Vézina et al., 2009; Xie et al., 2017).”

“However, a sexually abused child will often not disclose it at all, or will only disclose it many years later (Paine & Hansen 2002; Smith et al., 2000).”

“Sexual abuse is also usually undisclosed by the child and the perpetrator [38,39].”

“…Lindblad, 2002), as well as shame and embarrassment (Saywitz, Goodman, Nicholas, & Moan, 1991) or fear due to real or perceived negative consequences (Berliner & Conte, 1995; Goodman-Brown, Edelstein, Goodman, Jones, & Gordon, 2003; Paine & Hansen, 2002; Palmer, Brown, Rae-Grant, & Loughlin, 1999).”

“the time of abuse or feeling responsible and ashamed for its occurrence and expecting negative consequences (Easton, Saltzman, & Willis, 2014; Goodman et al., 2003; Hershkowitz et al., 2007; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Furthermore, boys are more likely to blame themselves for being abused and not being able to stop it (Sang, 1994), are less likely to regard the abuse as victimisation (Sanderson, 2004) and less likely to disclose sexual abuse (Gries, Goh, & Cavanaugh, 1996; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“Disclosure may be attempted and reattempted; it may be delayed, accidental, purposeful, and/or recanted (Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“In addition, retired athletes may be more comfortable reporting experiences of SHA compared with current athletes (Brackenridge, 2001; Paine & Hansen, 2002).”

“…garner emotional support (Sorenson and Snow 1991), survivors may also be prompted to disclose by support providers who notice their distress (Ahrens et al. 2007), or as a result of conversations or educational programs that address gender-based violence (Karen et al. 1999; Paine and Hansen 2002).”

“By some estimates between 60-80% of CSA victims withhold disclosure suggesting that many children and adolescents endure prolonged victimization and do not receive any therapeutic intervention [54,55].”