Psychological Characteristics of Adults Who Have Experienced Sexual Violence in Childhood or Adolescence

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the contradictory ideas about the psychological characteristics of people who experienced sexual violence in childhood or adolescence. The study was exploratory in nature and had no hypothesis. The sample consisted of 40 adults with experience of sexual violence at the specified ages. Interviews, “Traumatic Stress Questionnaire”, “Unfinished Sentences”, "Time Perspective Questionnaire”, “Auto- and Heteroaggression Questionnaire”, “Self-Attitude Research Methodology” were used. The relationships between the values were evaluated according to the scales of the methods (Spearman’s r, p≤0.01). The inconsistency and vulnerability of self-attitude, the severity of depressive and anxious experiences, the psychological alienation of the past, and the negative perception of relationships with parents came to the fore. The emotional-protective role of the mnestic-attentive decrease is determined, the resource features of self-attitude and relationships with others are revealed. The importance of further studies of victims of different gender, age and nosological affiliation, as well as comparing the information obtained with the characteristics of victims who did not seek professional help, is substantiated.