Young people’s disclosures of childhood sexual abuse: Understanding peer disclosures

Disclosure of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a complex, multifaceted process with many barriers.Children and youth tend to withhold or delay disclosure for many years, such that the needs of those who experience CSA often go unidentified.Researchers have consistently found that young people disclose CSA to other youth at much higher rates than to adults or authorities.Therefore, the main objective of this program of research is to broaden our current understanding of young people's CSA discosures, particularly to peers.This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that contribute to the current literature by providing a framework for understanding peer disclsosures of CSA and the impact that these disclosures have on young people's friendships and social support.The first manuscript is a systematic review that synthesizes evidence from 37 studies on the recipients of children's and adolescent's disclosures of CSA.Results indicate that children and youth follow a gradual pattern of disclosure, whereby they first disclose to peers before disclosing to a parent or trusted adult, who can then help the child report to a person of authority.Key developmental and gender patterns are identified.Following this line of inquiry, the second and third manuscripts consist of qualitative studies using grounded theory methodology to better understand peer disclosures and their consequences based on interviews with 30 young people who have disclosed CSA to peers.The second manuscript provides a framework for understanding peer disclosures, where an underlying sense of uncertainty permeated the entire disclosure experience.Participants' narratives reflected six stages that were interrelated in a cyclical process: experiencing internal conflict, needing to tell and choosing to confide in peers, expecting emotional support from peers, gradual telling and making sense of the abuse, burden on peers, and assessing peer responses and further disclosures.In addition, this model was not static, as with time, participants reinterpreted their peers' PEER DISCLOSURES OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE iii reactions to their disclosures.The third manuscript sought to understand how young people perceive their peers' reactions upon disclosing CSA by exploring the impact of peer responses on friendships and social support.Participants who reported supportive peer reactions (emotional support, instrumental support, and encouragement to tell an adult) developed stronger friendships and experienced sustained social support.Participants who reported unsupportive responses (lacked understanding, confrontational, gossiping) experienced social isolation after disclosing as they felt treated differently by peers, they distanced themselves from others, they experienced conflict, or they were excluded by peers.A small subgroup reported that their peers told an adult without their consent, which was sometimes perceived positively, and sometimes negatively.These findings suggest that disclosing to peers can have a significant impact on the individual's social support network long after the disclosure.Overall, the findings from these manuscripts contribute to our understanding of CSA disclosures from young people's perspectives, shedding light on complex processes that are unique to peer disclosures.Practice and policy implications, as well as limitations and future research directions are discussed.

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