Predictors Of Group Treatment Outcomes For Child Sexual Abuse: An Investigation Of The Role Of Demographic And Abuse Characteristics

Research has begun to identify factors that may moderate the effects of interventions for symptomatology associated with child sexual abuse (CSA). However, there is disagreement about which factors may be important for different populations. The present investigation examined predictors of treatment outcomes among 166 predominantly economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse CSA survivors between the ages of six and ten, who were treated using game-based cognitive-behavioural therapy (GB-CBT). Predictor variables included demographic characteristics (i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, household income) and abuse-related risk factors (i.e. degree of invasiveness of abuse, frequency of instances of CSA and type of relationship to the perpetrator). Treatment outcomes included internalising and externalising symptoms, sexually inappropriate behaviours, knowledge of abuse and personal safety skills. Results indicate that participants' responsiveness to treatment was not impacted by demographic or abuse-related risk factors. Thus, group treatment appears to be effective for treating a wide range of problems following CSA, irrespective of clients' varied demographic background and abuse characteristics. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.