1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The main goals of this study were to document survivors’ perception of partner responses to their CSA [childhood sexual abuse] disclosure, and to examine their associations with both survivors’ and partners’ relationship and sexual satisfaction.» (p. 488)

Questions/Hypothèses :
Authors «expected that survivors would perceive more positive responses than negative responses from their partner […]. Furthermore, [they] hypothesized that negative responses would be associated with lower sexual and relationship satisfaction in both partners, while positive responses would be associated with higher sexual and relationship satisfaction.» (p. 482)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample was drawn from a larger longitudinal study involving 375 community couples, in a large metropolitan city in North America. Inclusion criteria were the following: couples [a]ged 18 years or older, [i]n a relationship for at least 6 months and [n]ot currently pregnant. Of the total sample, 102 individuals (14.7%) reported a history of CSA. Of these 102 CSA survivors, 70 had disclosed to their partner (68.6%), and comprised the final sample.» (p. 482) La région de provenance des participants et participantes n’est pas mentionnée, mais la majorité de ceux-ci étaient identifiés comme Canadiens-Français.

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«A primary finding was that survivor-perceived partner responses were prominently positive. Still, half of survivors reporting positive responses also reported responses of blame and/or stigmatization. The two other main findings were that survivors’ perceived emotional support during disclosure was associated with their own and their partners’ greater sexual satisfaction, and survivors’ perception of being stigmatized or treated differently was associated with their own and their partner’s poorer relationship satisfaction. […] As hypothesized, results indicated that most survivors received positive support from their partner during disclosure of their CSA. This finding is consistent with the literature, where the proportion of positive support hovers around 65% […]. In [the] sample, 94% of the survivors received emotional support and 67% received tangible aid from their partner. […] Finally, contrary with [the] hypothesis and to the existing literature […], stigmatization was not related to the sexual satisfaction of either partner. This might have been caused by the covariance between relational and sexual satisfaction, such that the negative effects of this negative partner response had a greater impact on the relationship than on sexuality. Although correlated, those two variables represent different relationship domains which do not necessarily vary together, especially in couples including a CSA survivor, for which sexuality can be underinvested and/or inhibited […].» (p. 488)