Attitudes toward touch: Adult female sexual abuse client survivors

Suzanne Newnum Kunkle, Purdue University

Abstract

This study examined differences among adult female childhood sexual abuse (CSA) client survivors' comfort with touch from therapists and non-therapists by type of CSA experienced. Courtois' (1988) model stating that denial, dissociation, ego strength, mental health, stage of treatment, therapeutic relationship, and other stressful life experiences predicted adult female CSA client survivors' comfort with touch from a well-known individual, an acquaintance, an unknown person, a psychotherapist, a bodyworker, a team psychotherapist, a team bodyworker, or a body-oriented psychotherapist was tested. Responses from 95 adult females, ages 18 to 68, were analyzed. All participants completed the Attitudes Toward Touch Questionnaire-R that included the Demographic Questionnaire, Description of Abuse, Stage of Healing Checklist, Working Alliance Inventory, Attitudes Toward Touch Questionnaire, Stressful Life Experiences Long-Form, five subscales from the Trauma Symptom Inventory™, and eight subscales from the Personality Assessment Inventory™. A repeated measures MANOVA found no significant differences in touch comfort by type of CSA when the toucher was a non-therapist. However, there were significant differences in touch comfort by toucher. Client survivors reported more touch comfort from a well-known individual, than from an acquaintance, or an unknown person. Client survivors reported significantly more touch comfort from an acquaintance than an unknown person. No interaction effect was found between toucher and type of CSA. Results from a second repeated measure MANOVA found significant differences in touch comfort by type of CSA when the toucher was a therapist. Client survivors of non-incestuous CSA compared to client survivors of incestuous CSA reported greater touch comfort. No differences were found between survivors of non-incestuous CSA and those who experienced both types of CSA. No interaction between type of CSA and toucher was found. Backward stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated 10 acceptable models for the prediction of touch comfort when survivors of all types of CSA were analyzed at once, two models were acceptable for non-incestuous CSA only, two models for incestuous CSA, and no models were acceptable when survivors who experienced both non-incestuous and incestuous CSA were entered. All variables were retained as significant predictors of touch comfort from the various touchers.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

DeLucia-Waack, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Academic guidance counseling|Psychotherapy

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