Through the Eyes of a Child: Witnessing Childhood Trauma Is as Impactful as Experiencing Trauma for Polyvictimized Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

What is it about?

We studied 244 adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) and their experiences of childhood polyvictimization (experiencing more than one form of victimization). We looked at how their childhood trauma effected their adult trauma symptoms, education, and income levels. The majority of the sample (87%) experienced polyvictimization in childhood (in combination with child sexual abuse), with the largest part of the sample (83%) experiencing emotional abuse by someone close to them, and the smallest part of the sample (22%) experiencing child physical abuse by someone with whom they were not close. The results showed that both experiencing and witnessing trauma were significantly associated with trauma symptoms for CSA survivors. These results suggest that both types of victimization (experiencing and witnessing) need to be treated as direct traumas, and a more holistic approach towards survivors of CSA is needed towards assessment and treatment.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Sometimes we can believe that witnessing a trauma is not as bad as experiencing a trauma, but this study suggests that witnessing a trauma leads to traumatic outcomes.