2021-2022 Grant in Aid of Research
The Correlation Between Childhood Sexual Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Revictimization on Romantic Relationship Satisfaction with Spiritual Well-Being and Post-Traumatic Growth as Mediators.
Sarah Ward
This study looks at childhood sexual abuse in females as one factor that may influence more complex and, oftentimes, unhealthy romantic relationship patterns for emerging adult females. Two of the most common damaging romantic relationship patterns that are seen in females with a history of childhood sexual abuse include sexual revictimization and intimate partner violence (Davis & Petretic- Jackson, 2000; DiLilllo, 2001; Testa, VanZile-Tamsen, & Livingston, 2005; Chan, 2011). Two strength- based constructs, Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) and Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), are brought into this study to examine their influence on the intimate romantic relationship satisfaction of those who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. One of the hypotheses of this study is that females with a history of childhood sexual abuse have a higher risk of entering into harmful romantic relationships. Secondly, the higher the self-report scores on each of these strength-based constructs, the lower the risk of romantic relationship revictimization and violence and the higher the scores on relationship satisfaction.
This study is developed within the perspective of the following conceptual frameworks: Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment, Constructivist Self-Development Theory, and Psychodynamic Perspective of Personality. These frameworks were chosen due to their meaning-making beliefs, as well as their developmental theories. The goal of this study was to present this material in a way that was conducive to hope building, empowerment, and strength-based messages for the trauma field, which currently possesses too few of these qualities.