Self-attributions of blame in sexually abused adolescents: a mediational model

This study evaluates the mediational role of general attributions in explaining the impact of specific attributions regarding sexual abuse (SA) on six posttraumatic symptoms. One hundred three SA female adolescents (13-17 years old) completed the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC; Briere, 1989), the blame/guilt subscale of the Children's Impact of Traumatic Events Scale (CITES-R; Wolfe, Gentile, Michienzi, Sas, & Wolfe, 1991), and the Personal Attributions for Negative Events subscale of the Children's Attributions and Perceptions Scale (CAPS; Mannarino, Cohen, & Berman, 1994). Results indicate that general attributions act as a mediator between specific attributions and six posttraumatic symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, sexual concerns, posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and anger). Language: en