Chronic avoidance helps explain the relationship between severity of childhood sexual abuse and psychological distress in adulthood
Abstract
Recent studies have found that chronic avoidance of unpleasant internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, memories) is a maladaptive means of affect regulation often adopted by women with a history of sexual victimization in childhood. The primary aim of this study was to replicate and extend previous findings suggesting that higher levels of experiential avoidance may account for the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and psychological distress in adulthood. It was hypothesized that, in a sample of undergraduate females (n = 151), the relationship between severity of CSA (e.g., frequency, nature of victimization) and trauma-related psychological distress would be mediated by avoidance. Results supported this hypothesis. Findings are consistent with previous studies, and further suggest that the general tendency to avoid or escape from unpleasant internal experiences may be a specific factor that exacerbates psychological distress among women with a history of sexual victimization in childhood.
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Avoidance of internal emotional experiences mediates the relationship between severity of CSA and psychological distress in adult women sexually abused in childhood.
“Another indication that a lack of emotional mindfulness may carry the detrimental effects of CSA is observed when avoidance of internal emotional experiences mediates the relationship between severity of CSA and psychological distress in adult women sexually abused in childhood (Rosenthal et al. 2005).”
From Mindfulness as Mediator and Moderator of Post-traumatic Symptomatology in Adolescence Following Childhood Sexual Abuse or Assault (2016) · cites this paper as Rosenthal et al. 2005
More severe abuses predicted more avoidance of internal experiences, which in turn was associated with greater distress.
“In other words, these results indicated that more severe abuses predicted more avoidance of internal experiences, which in turn was associated with greater distress.”
From Mindfulness as Mediator and Moderator of Post-traumatic Symptomatology in Adolescence Following Childhood Sexual Abuse or Assault (2016) · cites this paper as Rosenthal et al. 2005
The results of the mediation analyses are in line with results of previous studies with adult populations exposed to CSA or to cumulative traumatic experiences that include CSA.
“The results of the mediation analyses confirm the study's first hypothesis and are in line with results of previous studies with adult populations exposed to CSA or to cumulative traumatic experiences that include CSA (Bolduc et al. 2014; Rosenthal et al. 2005).”
From Mindfulness as Mediator and Moderator of Post-traumatic Symptomatology in Adolescence Following Childhood Sexual Abuse or Assault (2016) · cites this paper as Rosenthal et al. 2005
EA was found to mediate the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and later psychological symptoms in adulthood in several samples.
“To illustrate, EA was found to mediate the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and later psychological symptoms in adulthood in several samples [20,21].”
From Measuring Experiential Avoidance: Evidence toward Multidimensional Predictors of Trauma Sequelae (2017) · cites this paper as [21]
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References 52 · Cited by 128
- Authors
- Rosenthal, M. Z., Hall, M. L. R., Palm, K. M., Batten, S. V., & Follette, V. M.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- University of Nevada, Reno (US)
- Brown Medical School and Butler Hospital
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Universitas Ngurah Rai (ID)
- Venue
- Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2005-12-13
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 25-41
- ISSN
- 1053-8712 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-0679
- OpenAlex
- W1995214645
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 3.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Child Sexual Abuse (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Clark Digital Commons (Clark University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- child sexual abuse, experiential avoidance, psychological distress, trauma, emotion regulation, women, mediation, replication
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Child Abuse, Sexual, Defense Mechanisms, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Sexual Behavior, Stress, Psychological, Crime Victims
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