A burden in your heart: Lessons of disclosure from female preadolescent and adolescent survivors of sexual abuse

Objectives: To enhance understanding of the sexual abuse disclosure process from the perspective of preteen and teenage survivors. To reconsider prominent models of the disclosure process in light of our findings. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from four focus groups in which 34 preadolescent and adolescent female survivors of sexual abuse had been asked about their treatment experiences. Girls often recounted disclosing their victimization to others. Using the disclosure segment as our unit of analysis, we isolated 106 for study. During analysis, we wrote narrative summaries of each segment's significance, grouped these conceptually, and examined their interconnectedness. When synthesized, individual experiences of disclosing contributed to understanding the overall disclosure process. Results: Three phases were identified: Self, where children come to understand victimization internally; Confidant Selection-Reaction, where they select a time, place, and person to tell and then weather that person's reaction (supportive or hostile); and Consequences (good and bad) that continued to inform their on-going strategies of telling. The actions and reactions of adults were significant and informed the girls' decisions. Conclusions: We advocate integrating existing theories and research into a model which views the disclosure process from the child's perspective and includes pre-disclosure and a post-initial public disclosure stages. The model conceptualizes disclosure as an iterative process in which children interact with adults and incorporate responses into their on-going decisions about telling (recant, deny, affirm, etc.). The combined model should recognize the concerns and position of adults as well as the perspective and logic of youth. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.