Healing from Child Sexual Abuse: Male Survivors' Accounts of Critical Moments in Their Long-Term Recovery

Background and Purpose: Recent research has documented that child sexual abuse (CSA) often negatively affects the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of boys/men across the lifespan.  However, some male survivors experience a turning point marking a positive change in their health trajectories and healing process.  Although frequently discussed in reference to physical health problems (e.g., cancer, diabetes) or addictions (e.g., alcoholism), very little is known about turning points with respect to CSA for men.  The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to identify and understand the different types of turning points experienced by a large non-clinical sample of adult men with histories of CSA.

 Methods: The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of data collected through an anonymous, internet-based survey: the 2010 Health and Well-being Survey.  Participants were recruited through three national survivor organizations.  The current study was based on narrative responses to an open-ended item that asked participants to describe critical points in their recovery in which they committed to healing.  The final sample consisted of 250 men with histories of CSA who ranged in age from 23 to 84 years (µ = 50.97).  Most participants were Caucasian (90.4%), members of a survivor organization (84.8%), and cohabitating with a partner/spouse (71.6%).  The men were, on average, 10 years old at the time of the sexual abuse.  Most participants reported that: the abuser was male (95.2%), the abuse lasted six months or more (73%), and the abuse involved penetration (57.2%).

Through an iterative process that involved three inductive phases, researchers used conventional content analysis to analyze the data.  Over a six month period, researchers coded sections of the data independently and then met regularly to reach consensus on coding categories.

 Results: Turning points can be critical events, revelations, or processes that facilitate personal growth and wellness.  The researchers identified seven distinct types of turning points that were classified into three broad categories: influential relationships (i.e., professional and group support, personal relationships), insights and new meanings (i.e., cognitive realizations, necessity to change, spiritual transformation), and action-oriented communication (i.e., disclosure of CSA, pursuit of justice).  All turning point categories (except one) contained multiple sub-types.

 Conclusions and Implications: The findings contribute to a scant body of research on recovery from CSA and represent the first attempt to describe turning points for male survivors.  The results are relevant for a broad audience who help survivors transcend the debilitating effects of CSA: mental health practitioners, spouses/partners/family members, managers of social service organizations, educators, and advocates.  Various implications for practice are discussed such as improving access to quality mental health services, including disclosure history in clinical assessments, expanding networks for future disclosures, shifting blame to the abuser, and encouraging survivors to undertake meaning-making activities.  Future research should explore topics related to turning points such as: how they are related to healing, timing (i.e., chronological age, life stage), and facilitators and barriers of turning points.