Poster #46 - Social connectedness and well-being among Black women following adolescent sexual trauma

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

Adolescent sexual trauma is associated with a host of mental health problems in adulthood (Murphy et al., 1988) and clinical studies have primarily focused on factors that mitigate negative outcomes. In contrast, far less research has examined factors that may support survivors’ well-being (e.g., positive emotions, fulfillment, and interpersonal relationships, Seligman, 2011). For historical, social, and environmental reasons, sexual violence disproportionately impacts Black girls, for whom such violence is not only gender-based, but racialized, as well (Crenshaw, 1991; Amodeo et al., 2006). Considering that Black Americans often turn to community to cope with violence (Christian & Barbarin, 2001), there is a need for research on how race- and gender-specific contextual factors may support the well-being of Black women survivors of adolescent sexual trauma. In this study, we examine the association between Black girls’ experience of sexual assault in adolescence and psychological flourishing in early adulthood and examine the potential moderating effects of girls’ closeness with their primary caregiver, social self-worth in peer relationships, and feelings of affirmation and belonging in their racial/ethnic identity.
Participants included 1,163 Black girls from the longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study. Sexual assault history was assessed by self-report prospectively between ages 13 to 17 years, and retrospectively once girls turned 18. During adolescence, participants also reported on their sense of closeness with their caregiver (Inventory of Parent-Peer Attachment, Armsden and Greenberg, 1987), social self-worth (Perception of Peers and Self, Rudolph et al., 1995), and feelings of affirmation in and belongingness with their racial/ethnic identity (Multiethnic Identity Measure, Phinney, 1992). For these latter measures, summary scores were averaged across the five years of adolescence. In early adulthood, participants responded to the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2009) and an average summary score was calculated across ages 18-21 years.
Approximately 10% (N = 120) of participants reported having experienced sexual abuse or assault during adolescence. Results of hierarchical linear regression analyses first revealed that adolescent sexual trauma was significantly and negatively associated with flourishing (b = -0.090, SE = 0.427, p = .002). Second, close mother-daughter relationship (b = 0.075, SE = 0.040, p = .007), social self-worth (b = 0.242, SE = 0.052, p < .001), and racial/ethnic belonging during adolescence (b = 0.261, SE = 0.315, p < .001), each demonstrated unique and positive associations with flourishing in early adulthood. In the final step however, none of these variables moderated the association between adolescent sexual trauma and psychological flourishing in early adulthood.
Findings suggest that Black women survivors of adolescent sexual trauma experience lower flourishing than those without histories of such trauma. In addition, close mother-daughter relationships, social self-worth, and racial/ethnic belonging seem to bolster Black women’s flourishing in early adulthood, but these effects were not specific to women with a history of adolescent sexual trauma. Further research is therefore needed on race- and gender-specific contextual factors that increase the likelihood that Black women survivors of sexual trauma will thrive.

Authors

• Uma Balaji, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Irene Tung, California State University - Dominguez Hills

• Kate Keenan, University of Chicago

• Alison E. Hipwell, University of Pittsburgh