Disclosure of Abuse as a Moderating Variable for Internalized Shame in Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Although previous research has established a correlation between childhood sexual abuse and internalized shame in adult survivors, very little research has been done to examine how disclosure affects that correlation. An adult female sample of survivors of childhood sexual abuse (N=467) were surveyed to determine a possible moderating effect of disclosure on internalized shame. It was predicted that 1) severity of abuse would be a significant predictor of internalized shame; 2) disclosure would be a significant predictor of internalized shame; and 3) disclosure would moderate the relationship between severity of abuse and internalized shame. Through structural equation modeling using AMOS, results indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between severity and internalized shame as well as a statistically significant negative relationship between disclosure and internalized shame. However, when examining the possible moderating effect of disclosure on the relationship between severity and internalized shame, disclosure was found to have had no effect. Possible explanations for these results are given, and future research is discussed. Implications for clinical practice are included.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Grantor dc:publisher

Brigham Young University - Provo

Author dc:creator

• Frost, Ami Mariko Hood

• childhood sexual abuse
• disclosure
• internalized shame
• structural equation modeling
• Family, Life Course, and Society

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1191

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-2190