Treatment of adult survivors of sexual abuse: the effects of degree of sexual abuse and length of treatment on death anxiety.

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and death anxiety as measured by Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. The focus was on two variables: degree of sexual abuse (high, low) and length of treatment (12 or less months, 13 or more months). Subjects included 45 adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse defined as any unwanted sexual experience that occurred before the age of 18. Subjects were engaged in treatment at the time of the research. It was hypothesized that those who experienced high degrees of sexual abuse, for example penetration or rape, would report higher death anxiety than those who experienced a less severe degree of abuse such as sexual suggestions, fondling, or oral manipulation of the genitals. The results did not support this hypothesis. It was hypothesized that those who had been in treatment for 13 months or longer would have lower death anxiety scale (DAS) scores than those who had only been involved in therapy for 12 months or less. Results found those who had been in treatment longer had significantly higher death anxiety than those in treatment for 12 months or less. A statistically significant interaction of degree of sexual abuse and length of treatment as related to DAS scores was found, although the limited number of subjects categorized for low abuse does not allow for a valid analysis of the findings. Suggestions for future research were made.