Theses and Dissertations
Campus Access Only
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Date of Award
1-1-2011
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology (PhD)
Department
Center for Psychological Studies
First Advisor
Jan Faust
Second Advisor
Christian DeLucia
Third Advisor
Steven Gold
Keywords
Adjustment, Child Sexual Abuse, Family Environment
Abstract
The study sought to examine the influence of differences in perception of the family environment on adjustment following child sexual abuse. Eighty-eight children who had been sexually abused and their caregivers completed self-report measures regarding the Relationship Dimension of the Family Environment Scale (FES). Adjustment was measured by child report of posttraumatic stress and sexual concerns on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C) and depression on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Parent's report of adjustment was based on endorsement of internalizing and externalizing behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Analysis revealed elevated expressiveness for parents and children, higher conflict and lower cohesion reported by adolescents (12- 18), and lower conflict endorsed by children (6-11) as compared to the normative sample. Differences were noted in adolescent perception of conflict as compared to their primary caregiver; however, adolescent discrepancy scores of the family environment did not predict outcome. Caregivers reported higher internalizing and externalizing behaviors for the sample as compared to the normative sample.
NSUWorks Citation
Furdella, J.
(2011). Mother-Child Perceptions of Family Environment and Sexually Abused Children's Adjustment. .
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_stuetd/32