Behavioral Markers of Coping and Psychiatric Symptoms among Sexually Abused Children
Publication Date
4-1-2012
Journal
Journal of Traumatic Stress
DOI
10.1002/jts.21674
PMID
22522729
PMCID
PMC3708481
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Child, Female, Forensic Psychiatry, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Mental Disorders, Sex Offenses, United States
Abstract
The current study examined coping and psychiatric symptoms in a longitudinal sample of sexually abused children. Coping was behaviorally coded from children's forensic interviews in the aftermath of sexual abuse. Using principal components analysis, coping behaviors were found to cluster into 3 categories: avoidant, expressive, and positive affective coping. Avoidant coping had predictive utility for a range of psychiatric symptoms, including depressive, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms as well as aggression and attention problems measured 8-36 months following the forensic interview. Specific behaviors, namely fidgetiness and distractibility, were also found to be associated with future symptoms. These findings suggest the predictive utility of avoidant behaviors in general, and fidgetiness and distractibility in particular, among sexually abused children.