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I am a health journalist trying to find any research that has looked at the question of how survivors of CSA are impacted when they disclose and are not believed. I have done a number of searches, including using ACE keyword searches both on the NLM database and google scholar, and have reached out to some researchers, but have not been able to find anything that looks at that question. Thanks in advance for any input.

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Have you tried RAINN? I know so many survivors who say not being believed was as bad as being abused. It's an important topic. I have read a fair amount on how the presence of at least one supportive adult matters and can buffer impact of stress after trauma in childhood but no research specifically on this form of absence of support/secondary trauma which can complicate, strain or end family relationships short and long term. I hope you find more.

Laurie: I was so curious about this I looked around as well. I found this:

No One Noticed, No One Heard: A Study of Child Abuse Disclosures: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globa...one-heard-report.pdf

It's the most direct and related research I could find. It's fairly in depth and has other references which might point you in the right direction.

  • This one might help you get in touch with researchers who know more:

Lessons learned from child sexual abuse research: prevalence, outcomes, and preventive strategies. https://capmh.biomedcentral.co....1186/1753-2000-7-22

  • Some on impact of emotional abuse (not specifically not being believed)

http://dana.org/Cerebrum/2000/Wounds_That_Time_Won’t_Heal__The_Neurobiology_of_Child_Abuse/

  • There were things about the role of feelings of self-efficacy after trauma. Would be hard to have in light of a trauma people don't believe. It's more the inverse of what you are asking for but the researchers and articles might help. https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Ba...a/Bandura2004CTR.pdf
  • Often early experience has its effect indirectly by initiating a chain of events, by altering the organism in some way, and/or by promoting the impact of later experience. We provide examples where early experience is moderated and mediated by other factors and where it shows latent effects following developmental change. We illustrate developmental processes through which early experience has its effect and conclude that despite the complexity of development variations in early experience retain a vital place in the study of development. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857405/
  • Being Silenced: The Impact of Negative Social Reactions on the Disclosure of Rape, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705531/


I hope you report back and link to the article you write on this topic so we can all learn more. Cissy

Christine Cissy White posted:

Laurie: I was so curious about this I looked around as well. I found this:

No One Noticed, No One Heard: A Study of Child Abuse Disclosures: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globa...one-heard-report.pdf

It's the most direct and related research I could find. It's fairly in depth and has other references which might point you in the right direction.

  • This one might help you get in touch with researchers who know more:

Lessons learned from child sexual abuse research: prevalence, outcomes, and preventive strategies. https://capmh.biomedcentral.co....1186/1753-2000-7-22

  • Some on impact of emotional abuse (not specifically not being believed)

http://dana.org/Cerebrum/2000/Wounds_That_Time_Won’t_Heal__The_Neurobiology_of_Child_Abuse/

  • There were things about the role of feelings of self-efficacy after trauma. Would be hard to have in light of a trauma people don't believe. It's more the inverse of what you are asking for but the researchers and articles might help. https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Ba...a/Bandura2004CTR.pdf
  • Often early experience has its effect indirectly by initiating a chain of events, by altering the organism in some way, and/or by promoting the impact of later experience. We provide examples where early experience is moderated and mediated by other factors and where it shows latent effects following developmental change. We illustrate developmental processes through which early experience has its effect and conclude that despite the complexity of development variations in early experience retain a vital place in the study of development. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857405/
  • Being Silenced: The Impact of Negative Social Reactions on the Disclosure of Rape, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1705531/


I hope you report back and link to the article you write on this topic so we can all learn more. Cissy

Hi Cissy,

This is a great help! I really appreciate it. I have been in touch with RAINN in the past. Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely let people know when my article comes out and likely write a blog post about it to let people know.

Best regards,

Laurie

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