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Hi Jordain.Here is your draft with my feedback. You need to expand your search criteria. You only have 3 search terms. You also seem to be all over the place. You jump to AA families, yet the information is not specific to AA families. I would like you to follow a clear trajectory from one topic to another without losing focus.
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Perceptions and Experiences of African American Parents who survived CSA and their
Relationships with their School-aged Children
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Literature Review
Introduction
Child sexual abuse is a significant global social problem affecting one in every ten boys
and one in every five girls (Singh et al., 2024). The aftershock of this traumatic experience
propagate survivor’s neurological, psychological, and relational operations, positioning the stage
for a range of undesirable selfhood and parental consequences. In considering the perspectives
and roles of minority CSA survivors, this review will shed light on the appropriate culturally
competent support that should be provided within their parental role.
The influence of CSA on survivors’ parenting role is best explained through the socialrelational theory derived from Kuczynski et al. (2015). The approach integrates elements such as
agency, holism, contradiction, and synthesis for a better analysis of bidirectional parent-child
dynamics. It also captures both causal and interpretive features related to how survivors define
parenting. This integration is crucial as the population employs diverse coping mechanisms to
deal with symptoms. However, Altmaier (2021) revealed that victims often use an array of ways
such as solo focus or becoming superstar child abuse, that are sometimes detrimental to their
emotional health. Such a warped view of reality, formed by childhood experiences usually leads
to relationship issues in adulthood (Altmaier, 2021). Other outcomes associated with CSA
mentioned by Fatehi et al. (2022) are problems with emotional regulation, violence, and
interpersonal trauma, which negatively influence the survivors’ communication skills while
parenting their children.
Despite the wide acknowledgment of the negative impact of CSA on survivors’ parenting
abilities, the qualitative and quantified parenting deficits correlated with CSA show that existing
interventions are mostly suited for white female survivors (MacIntosh & Ménard, 2021). This
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notable lack of data on the essence of survivors’ parenting experiences disregards the cultural
dimensions of minorities, particularly the navigation of the parent-child relationship for African
American CSA survivors. This critical gap limits social workers’ capacity to address challenges
faced by different populations, especially Black parents impacted by sexual trauma.
This research will utilize qualitative means to shed light on the opinions of African
American CSA survivors concerning these violent encounters and how they impact their
emotional accessibility and practices with school-age children. This information is necessary in
offering the appropriate social work care. This will result in the centralization of their
experiential knowledge which is necessary for informing culturally sensitive social work care .
Literature Search Strategy
An extensive review of literature was carried out using several research databases. The
databases included Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE (PubMed), Google Scholar,
SocINDEX, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts
(ASSIA), and EBSCO Discovery Service. Keywords used to search for literature in these databases
were childhood Sexual Abuse, African Americans, and Survivors of CSA. Because of the limited
current research on African American parents who are survivors of CSA a broad search on general
impact of childhood sexual abuse on parenting styles was applied. Overall, several sources were
reviewed, thus providing a foundation for the exploration of the perceptions and experiences of
African American parents who survived CSA and their relationships with their school-aged
Children.
Key variables
Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA)
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Childhood sexual abuse occurs when an older person or another child in power or control
abuses a minor child. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can change victims’ lives with disturbing
and violating behavior. Intrusive CSA involves touching, penetration, and pornography. CSA
trauma can affect the victims’ mental, physical, and emotional health forever. If CSA violates a
child’s trust, bodily autonomy, and innocence, it can damage their self-esteem and cause
permanent emotional damage. Complex trauma, dissociation, self-destructive behaviors, and
difficulty trusting and forming healthy relationships are long-term effects of CSA (Lo Iacono et
al., 2021). Psychological effects can stigmatize seeking help or disclosing CSA experiences..
Trust and emotional scars may affect survivors’ relationships. Adulthood and other changes
affect CSA survivors. Due to its widespread and complex effects, CSA survivors and families
need comprehensive support and trauma-informed interventions.
Transgenerational Trauma
Transgenerational trauma involves trauma transmission and effects across generations.
African American parents who experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) suffer trauma. We
acknowledge that CSA affects African American families for generations. Unresolved CSA
trauma and wounds can subconsciously affect parents’ parenting, communication, and emotions.
African American CSA survivors may be hypervigilant, emotionally distant, or unable to love
their children. African American communities experience trauma due to complex historical,
cultural, and systemic factors, as shown by intergenerational trauma (Sarkissian & Sharkey,
2021). Trauma, emotional distress, and maladaptive coping mechanisms may unintentionally
affect African American CSA parents and children. Parents with shame, guilt, and inadequacy
may struggle to support, set boundaries, and form secure attachments with their children.
Transgenerational trauma can affect CSA parent-child relationships through behavioral patterns.
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Fearing vulnerability, survivors may overprotect their children with strict limits. Psychological
detachment from trauma and pain can hinder parent-child bonding. The inability to trust and
form secure attachments may prevent survivors from loving and supporting their children.
Transgenerational trauma’s behavioral manifestations cause dysfunction and emotional distance
in parent-child relationships, perpetuating family trauma cycles. These behavioral patterns must
be addressed to break the trauma cycle, heal, and build healthy, nurturing relationships in CSA
and transgenerational trauma families. Despite CSA and transgenerational trauma, African
American parents and their school-aged children can heal, recover, and build healthy families
with interventions and support.
Outcomes of Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse affects survivors’ physical, emotional, psychological, and social
health. CSA-affected black parents may traumatize their school-aged children. African American
parents’ parenting style and communication with their children may be affected by CSA’s
anxiety, hypervigilance, and emotional distress. CSA survivors may overprotect their children to
avoid harm and trauma. CSA’s psychological wounds may also make it harder for African
American parents to support, set boundaries, and model healthy coping mechanisms for their
children, fostering secure attachments and emotional development (Noll, 2021). CSA affects
African American parents’ relationships with their school-aged children, so survivors and their
families need culturally sensitive interventions, trauma-informed support, and community
resources. CSA survivors face many debilitating challenges after the trauma. When betrayed,
survivors struggle to rebuild trust, which is essential to healthy relationships. This loss of trust
can affect many aspects of their lives, making meaningful relationships harder. CSA can make
survivors feel worthless, ashamed, and inadequate, affecting their identity and self-esteem.
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Emotionally scarred people use unhealthy pain management, making them more likely to abuse
drugs. After CSA trauma, survivors may struggle to focus, learn, and succeed in school. Abusers
may exploit survivors, perpetuating trauma and suffering. These outcomes can hinder parenting
and increase family risks. CSA can be maintained by intergenerational trauma abuse and
dysfunction.
Long-Term Impact of Child Sexual Abuse
Detachment to their Children
The survivors of child abuse have difficulties with detachment and lack emotional
availability to their children. Thorpe et al. (2021) reveal that survivors exhibit pathological
bonding, reduced empathy as caregivers’ and authoritarian traits coupled with attachment
disorders in the children. These effects are confirmed by Tsang et al. (2021) who depict medium
to long-term impact linking CSA’s history and parental relationship dysfunction. the study
further indicates that offspring experience high levels of stranger anxiety and separation distress,
which shape their identity as parents. This indifferent reaction may result from survivors’
suppression of trauma memories released by interacting with their children (Tsang et al., 2021).
The findings depict an applied intergenerational risk depicted by the correlation between
maternal history of CSA and higher numbers of sexual abuse cases in female children.
Avoiding the Perpetrator
CSA renders far-reaching effects that are not confined to immediate trauma but remain
with the survivor through their lives in a complicated manner. The primary focal points of
survivors’ reactions to their traumatic events are coping mechanisms. According to Fatehi et al.
(2022), the emotional regulation difficulties and interpersonal trauma experienced make them
avoid situations or persons who remind them of their abusers. Radell et al. (2021) link avoidance
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with depression and problematic parenting practices. This effect according to Thorpe et al.
(2021) poses difficulties with developing intimate bonds detailing a scenario of alienation that
hinders relationship development and maintenance. This avoidance behavior also intersects with
mental health outcomes as indicated by Tsang et al. (2021) who highlight the overlap between
internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression in avoiding triggering situations. Overall,
these studies give a comprehensive understanding of how the bypass defense manifests in CSA
victims and their impact on relationships and parenting practices.
Mental Illnesses
Childhood sexual violence trauma often results in chronic mental health disorders.
several meta-analyses record significantly enhanced prevalence rates for depression, PTSD,
anxiety disorders, and suicide in adult CSA survivors (Radell et al., 2021). In addition, survivors
have a two times greater risk of an emotional disorder compared to non-abused peers which
hinders the development of interpersonal relationships with children (Sharma, 2022). Without
proper treatment, psychiatric illnesses greatly undermine the ability of survivor-parents to show
tenderness and give appropriate responses to their growing persons’ needs. Psychopathology
increases their detachment and avoidance which leads to the destruction of normal parent-child
relationships (Nielsen et al., 2019). Although quantitative research has created well-established
linkages between CSA and later negative outcomes, lacking empirical insight into the subtleties
of survivors’ lived experiences across social contexts remains curiously scarce in academic
discourse and merits qualitative investigation.
Parenting Functioning of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors
Insecure Attachments in Adult Couple Relationships
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As per the social-relational theory, abuse in early childhood disturbs one’s internal
working model for safety and trust developed within the relationship (Thorpe et al., 2021). CSA
significantly inhibits the formation of secure attachment across life stages. Introversion, fear of
intimacy, distress from enmeshment, and reliance on partners are behaviors that characterize
dysfunctional attachment styles (Nielsen et al., 2019). As compared to their securely attached
counterparts, insecure CSA survivors have significantly lower scores on couple satisfaction,
dedication, trust, and relationship value. If not treated through counseling, insecure orientations
spread relational dysfunction from generation to generation.
Less Chance of Getting Married and Greater Probability for Divorce
Reliable and lasting attachments which are requisites for excellent development of stable
marital relationships are lacking in CSA victims leading to significant consequences. Fortson et
al. (2016) posit that survivors are half as likely to ever marry compared with non-abused peers
and if they do there are high chances of separation or divorce. This outcome is associated with
post-traumatic symptomology, chronic mental illness, emotional numbing, destructive conflict
tactics, and intimate partner violence which are destabilizers. Left unsupported, fractured
foundations see survivors isolate themselves or regard dissolution as inevitable.
Increased Likelihood of Marital Difficulties
Studies show that there are elevated risks for marital concerns among CSA survivors. In
contrast to non-abused spouses, the population reported significantly greater distress across all
measured dimensions of the relationship including problem-solving, communication, and
affective expression (Nielsen et al., 2019). Partners use words such as “chaos” and ‘rigidity’ to
describe survivor relationships, with a distinct hostility associated specifically with trauma
abuse. Partners whose marriage is affected by CSA may develop maladaptive interpersonal
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patterns such as triangulation of children, avoidance-withdrawing coping, and extradyadic affairs
(MacIntosh & Ménard, 2021). Recurrence of mental illness and parenting disruptions also put a
strain on marital unions. Couples interventions are essential so that survivors can learn how to
nurture intimacy.
Conclusion
The literature review indicates that although research identifies the significant impacts of
CSA history on survivors’ personal and interpersonal functioning, major gaps remain in
documenting the experiences of minority survivor parental roles. the findings in different studies
show the detrimental effects of CSA including attachment issues, marital troubles, and
intergenerational transmission of trauma. However, little is said about the crux of African
American survivors’ relationships with their kids. This is because most research samples on
survivor-parents are White, educated people with high socioeconomic status. Considering
cultural dimensions in Black parenting, this gap limits practitioner’s ability to provide
appropriate support. Therefore, future quantitative and qualitative research should focus on selfreported parenting among marginalized groups to identify and understand the impact of CSA.
This focus is crucial to illuminate minorities’ stories so that social workers can provide healing
and resilience that is culturally informed and trauma-sensitive.
The current study seeks to inform culturally oriented trauma-sensitive social work using
narratives from African American CSA survivors to highlight their perceptions and feelings
about their children and parenting approaches. the findings of this research will influence the
education content of parenting after trauma, sexual abuse recovery programs for survivors of
color and policy focused on resources for this population. The qualitative illumination of
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survivors’ voices addresses an important gap that will empower social workers to disrupt
damaging intergenerational cycles.
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References
Altmaier, E. M. (2021). Childhood sexual abuse: You are not alone. In Leaving Darkness
Behind: Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse (1st ed., pp. 11-38). American
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Fatehi, M., Miller, S. E., Fatehi, L., & Mowbray, O. (2022). A scoping study of parents with a
history of childhood sexual abuse and a theoretical framework for future research.
Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 23(4), 1134–1156.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020987822
Fortson, B. L., Klevens, J., Merrick, M. T., Gilbert, L. K., & Alexander, S. P. (2016). Preventing
child abuse and neglect: A technical package for policy, norm, and programmatic
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Kuczynski, L., Parkin, C. M., & Pitman, R. (2015). Socialization as a dynamic process: A
dialectical, transactional perspective. In J. E. Grusec & P. D. Hastings (Eds.), Handbook
of Socialization: Theory and Research (pp. 135–157). The Guilford Press.
Lo Iacono, L., Trentini, C., & Carola, V. (2021). Psychobiological consequences of Childhood
sexual abuse: Current knowledge and clinical implications. Frontiers in Neuroscience,
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MacIntosh, H. B., & Ménard, A. D. (2021). The couple and parenting functioning of childhood
sexual abuse survivors: a systematic review of the literature (2001-2018). Journal of
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Nielsen, B. F., Wind, G., Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, T., & Martinsen, B. (2019). A scoping review of
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Noll, J. G. (2021). Child sexual abuse as a unique risk factor for the development of
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