Abstract

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.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Family Life; Marriage and Family Therapy

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2007-09-12

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd2101

Keywords

childhood sexual abuse, disclosure, internalized shame, structural equation modeling

Language

English

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