The parental response to children's disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is the most critical and important factor regarding the child's post trauma trajectory and overall trauma resolution. Understanding parental responses and the factors that prompt acceptance versus disbelief among the non-offending parent (NOP) is vital to children's success following disclosure given the weight of the NOPs response and its impact on long-term consequences of CSA. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of what may deter the NOP from recognizing intrafamilial sexual abuse, factors that may contribute to the NOPs disbelief following disclosure, and possible clinical implications of such information. It was found that there may be several deterrents regarding recognizing CSA such as the child's presentation during periods of abuse, the perpetrator's grooming techniques, socioeconomic factors, and the presence of maladaptive coping skills among the NOP. Further, several possible factors that contribute to the NOPs disbelief following the child's disclosure were identified such as the NOPs relationship with the perpetrator, the NOP-child relationship, the NOPs mental health and degree of functioning, and the child's decision not to disclose.
","abstract_html":"<p>The parental response to children's disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is the most critical and important factor regarding the child's post trauma trajectory and overall trauma resolution. Understanding parental responses and the factors that prompt acceptance versus disbelief among the non-offending parent (NOP) is vital to children's success following disclosure given the weight of the NOPs response and its impact on long-term consequences of CSA. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of what may deter the NOP from recognizing intrafamilial sexual abuse, factors that may contribute to the NOPs disbelief following disclosure, and possible clinical implications of such information. It was found that there may be several deterrents regarding recognizing CSA such as the child's presentation during periods of abuse, the perpetrator's grooming techniques, socioeconomic factors, and the presence of maladaptive coping skills among the NOP. Further, several possible factors that contribute to the NOPs disbelief following the child's disclosure were identified such as the NOPs relationship with the perpetrator, the NOP-child relationship, the NOPs mental health and degree of functioning, and the child's decision not to disclose.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["LaTreill, Psy.D., Jennifer"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christina Brown, Psy.D.","Marcia Pita, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:28Z","subjects":["childhood sexual abuse","intrafamilial sexual abuse","non-offending mother","parental responses","betrayal trauma","CSA","non-offending parent","Child Psychology","Clinical and Medical Social Work","Counseling","Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling","Other Psychiatry and Psychology","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Psychology","Social Work"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/490","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christina Brown, Psy.D.","Marcia Pita, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["LaTreill, Psy.D., Jennifer"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-07-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["childhood sexual abuse","intrafamilial sexual abuse","non-offending mother","parental responses","betrayal trauma","CSA","non-offending parent","Child Psychology","Clinical and Medical Social Work","Counseling","Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling","Other Psychiatry and Psychology","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Psychology","Social Work"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/490"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The parental response to children's disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is the most critical and important factor regarding the child's post trauma trajectory and overall trauma resolution. Understanding parental responses and the factors that prompt acceptance versus disbelief among the non-offending parent (NOP) is vital to children's success following disclosure given the weight of the NOPs response and its impact on long-term consequences of CSA. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of what may deter the NOP from recognizing intrafamilial sexual abuse, factors that may contribute to the NOPs disbelief following disclosure, and possible clinical implications of such information. It was found that there may be several deterrents regarding recognizing CSA such as the child's presentation during periods of abuse, the perpetrator's grooming techniques, socioeconomic factors, and the presence of maladaptive coping skills among the NOP. Further, several possible factors that contribute to the NOPs disbelief following the child's disclosure were identified such as the NOPs relationship with the perpetrator, the NOP-child relationship, the NOPs mental health and degree of functioning, and the child's decision not to disclose.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Bridging the Gap: Understanding non-offending parental responses to their children's sexual abuse."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christina Brown, Psy.D.","Marcia Pita, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["LaTreill, Psy.D., Jennifer"],"dc:date.available":["2020-07-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The parental response to children's disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is the most critical and important factor regarding the child's post trauma trajectory and overall trauma resolution. Understanding parental responses and the factors that prompt acceptance versus disbelief among the non-offending parent (NOP) is vital to children's success following disclosure given the weight of the NOPs response and its impact on long-term consequences of CSA. This literature review provides a comprehensive summary of what may deter the NOP from recognizing intrafamilial sexual abuse, factors that may contribute to the NOPs disbelief following disclosure, and possible clinical implications of such information. It was found that there may be several deterrents regarding recognizing CSA such as the child's presentation during periods of abuse, the perpetrator's grooming techniques, socioeconomic factors, and the presence of maladaptive coping skills among the NOP. Further, several possible factors that contribute to the NOPs disbelief following the child's disclosure were identified such as the NOPs relationship with the perpetrator, the NOP-child relationship, the NOPs mental health and degree of functioning, and the child's decision not to disclose.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/490"],"dc:subject":["childhood sexual abuse","intrafamilial sexual abuse","non-offending mother","parental responses","betrayal trauma","CSA","non-offending parent","Child Psychology","Clinical and Medical Social Work","Counseling","Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling","Other Psychiatry and Psychology","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Psychology","Social Work"],"dc:title":["Bridging the Gap: Understanding non-offending parental responses to their children's sexual abuse."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:28Z"}