Caregiver and divine support: Associations with resilience among adolescents following disclosure of sexual abuse

Tricia Gower; Caitlin Rancher; Jeanine Campbell; Annette Mahoney; Mindy Jackson; Renee McDonald; Ernest N Jouriles

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104681

Caregiver and divine support: Associations with resilience among adolescents following disclosure of sexual abuse

Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Nov:109:104681. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104681. Epub 2020 Sep 9.

Authors

Tricia Gower¹, Caitlin Rancher², Jeanine Campbell², Annette Mahoney³, Mindy Jackson⁴, Renee McDonald², Ernest N Jouriles⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 442, Dallas, Texas 75275-0442, USA. Electronic address: tgower@smu.edu.
² Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 442, Dallas, Texas 75275-0442, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, 822 E Merry St., Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0232, USA.
⁴ Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, 5351 Samuell Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75228, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 442, Dallas, Texas 75275-0442, USA. Electronic address: ejourile@smu.edu.

PMID: 32919169
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104681

Abstract

Background: Social support is believed to be important for fostering adolescent resilience following sexual abuse. Caregiver support is often examined as a source of support for adolescents, but divine support (support from God or a higher power) has received scant research attention.

Objective: This study examines relations of caregiver support and divine support with resilience following adolescent sexual abuse.

Participants and setting: Participants were 548 adolescents aged 11-17 (M_age = 13.78; 91% female) and their non-offending caregivers (M_age = 39.68; 79% mothers). Families were recruited from a children's advocacy center located in the southern United States following a disclosure of sexual abuse.

Methods: Adolescents completed measures of caregiver and divine support and their social and academic functioning; caregivers and adolescents reported on adolescent psychological functioning. Resilience was operationalized as the absence of clinical levels of psychological symptoms together with the presence of adaptive levels of social and academic functioning.

Results: Both caregiver support (r = .19, p < .001) and divine support (r = .14, p = .001) were positively associated with resilience. Considered together in regression analyses, caregiver support (OR = 1.02, p = .001) and divine support (OR = 1.06, p = .04) were both associated with resilience.

Conclusion: Clinicians and researchers should consider the potential contribution of caregiver and divine support to adolescent resilience following sexual abuse.

Keywords: Caregiver support; Divine support; Resilience; Sexual abuse.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Caregivers* / psychology
Child
Child Abuse, Sexual / psychology*
Disclosure
Female
Humans
Male
Mothers / psychology
Religion
Social Support*