Date of Award

1-2018

Document Type

Doctoral Research Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Victoria Follette

Second Advisor

Katrina Ellis

Third Advisor

Heidi Hatfield Edwards

Fourth Advisor

Mary Beth Kenkel

Abstract

In the current study, we examined the impact of trauma-specific treatment and treatment satisfaction to determine if receiving treatment had an impact on the adult mental health outcomes of childhood sexual abuse survivors. One hundred ninety-four participants completed a series of self-report measures that captured their experience of childhood sexual abuse, possible enrollment in treatment, experience in treatment, and current PTSD, Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Experiential Avoidance levels. MANOVAs were conducted to identify and examine any relationships between treatment groups. It was hypothesized that participants who received therapy specific to their childhood sexual abuse would endorse lower levels of PTSD, Depression, Alcohol Abuse, and Experiential Avoidance when compared to participants who did not receive treatment. This hypothesis was not supported. Revictimization and the severity of childhood sexual abuse was also analyzed for relationships to treatment outcomes. Participants’ reported treatment satisfaction and descriptions of their treatment experiences were analyzed for both qualitative and quantitative themes. The implications for these findings, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.

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