Non-offending caregiver support in cases of child sexual abuse: An examination of the impact of support on formal disclosures.
BACKGROUND
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a highly prevalent issue, impacting a substantial number of children globally (12 %; Stoltenborgh et al., 2011). Past research has found many children who have been sexually abused will delay their disclosure until adulthood, if they disclose at all (McElvaney, 2015; Reitsema & Grietens, 2016). This is often likely because of the adverse impact that reporting abuse can have for the child and their families (especially when committed by an intrafamilial perpetrator). Non-offending caregiver support has evidenced promise in increasing rates of disclosure (Cyr et al., 2014).


OBJECTIVE
It was hypothesized that higher levels of caregiver support would result in shorter delays of disclosure and that less support is given when the abuser is closely related to the child.


PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
CSA cases (n = 164) were pulled from the RCMP database of reported crimes for the greater Okanagan Area, British Columbia, Canada.


METHODS
Cases were coded for non-offending caregiver behaviors that indicated support and for relation to perpetrator.


RESULTS
Higher levels of non-offending caregiver support were found to lead to shorter delays of disclosure. Non-offending caregivers were significantly less supportive when the abuser was more closely related.


CONCLUSIONS
Caregiver support acted as a protective factor against delays of disclosure. However, this support decreased significantly when the abuser was closely related. The current study provides evidence for the need to support caregivers of children who have been abused with educational programs and resources so they can properly support the child impacted.
['Wallis|Cassidy R D|CRD|', 'Woodworth|Michael|M|']
D000328:Adult D001955:British Columbia D017028:Caregivers D002648:Child D002649:Child Abuse D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual D030881:Disclosure D006801:Humans
Caregiver support Support Child sexual abuse Disclosure