NCJ Number
205965
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 185-211
Editor(s)
Jon R. Conte
Date Published
February 2004
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This article presents an alternate conceptualization for vacillating responses of nonoffending guardians to disclosure of sexual abuse.
Abstract
The literature on sexual abuse has covered the problem of vacillation in belief, behavior, and affect of nonoffending guardians on discovering that their child is sexually abused. A review of the research literature suggests that ambivalence in support reflects the nonoffending guardian’s valence toward the child and the perpetrator. This article discusses the definition of ambivalence, how it is measured and scored, and its influence on behavior. The article also discusses a reconceptualization of ambivalence and considers whether postdisclosure ambivalence might be normative in some situations. A small exploratory study was initiated to assess the formulation of postdisclosure ambivalence in nonoffending guardians. It was hypothesized that greater post disclosure ambivalence in nonoffending mothers is related to (a) their more ambivalent/preoccupied attachment style, (b) their greater postdisclosure psychological distress, and (c) greater postdisclosure stressors. Data were obtained from a sample of 30 nonoffending mothers whose children consecutively entered a medical clinic for an outpatient child sexual abuse medical/forensic examination. The mothers were interviewed by the physician and social worker and completed questionnaires measuring ambivalence, attachment, stressors, and maternal symptom presentation. Due to the small sample size, only zero-order correlations were performed. Analysis of the data found that all three hypotheses were supported. More ambivalent/preoccupied mothers exhibited greater postdisclosure ambivalence, especially regarding their decisions about punishment and living arrangements for the offender. Furthermore, avoidant/dismissing mothers were less likely to experience behavioral ambivalence while more securely attached mothers experienced less ambivalence. The second hypothesis, that nonoffending mothers with greater stressors would experience greater ambivalence, was also supported with stressors related to the perpetrator being most significant. Finally, the third hypothesis, that ambivalence is related to maternal distress, was also supported. The analysis found that ambivalence scores were moderately to strongly related to all symptom scales, suggesting that more ambivalent mothers experienced higher levels of distress. A discussion of issues regarding ambivalence completes this article. 1 table and 65 references