Hostile Attributions as Mediators of the Relationship between PTSD and Later Peer Victimization in Child Victims of Sexual Abuse

• In Event: 2-143 - Adversity, Victimization, and Aggression: Longitudinal Impact on Children’s Health and Psychosocial Adaptation

Integrative Statement

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a public health issue that affects one in five girls and one in ten boys before the age of 18. A host of negative repercussions has been linked to a history of CSA, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and a heightened risk of further victimization. A limited number of studies have shown that CSA victims face a higher risk of experiencing peer victimization. Some of the consequences associated with CSA, notably posttraumatic stress symptoms, were found to increase victim’s vulnerability to peer victimization. Moreover, hostile attributions bias, which refers to the tendency to interpret other’s behavior as hostile or aggressive, has also been frequently identified as a risk factor for peer victimization in children and adolescents from the general population. However, there appear to be gaps in the literature concerning the possible impact of trauma and its sequelae on the development of hostile attribution bias. In addition, peer victimization in vulnerable populations remains understudied, and rarely measured with a cross-informant perspective.

Objectives
This study’s first objective is to compare the rates of peer victimization in CSA school age victims and non-victims, relying on a cross-informant measure (self-report, parent-report and teacher-report). Secondly, the hypothesis that hostile attribution bias contributes to the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and subsequent peer victimization will be tested.

Methods
The sample is composed of 254 victims of CSA and 71 non-victims aged 6 to 12 years old (69% girls). CSA victims were recruited in treatment centers offering services to sexually abused children, whereas the comparison group was recruited through elementary schools. Participants completed a questionnaire at their enrollment in the study (T1) and a year later (T2). A cross-informant measure (child, parent, teacher) was used to assess the child’s peer victimization (Ladd & Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2002). Children were presented hypothetical vignettes depicting an ambiguous provocation toward the child to measure their hostile attribution bias (Crick, 1995).

Results
T-tests were carried to compare the frequency of peer victimization experienced by CSA victims and non-victims. CSA victims were at higher risk of being chronically victimized by their peers than non-victims, as per both the child and the parents’ evaluations. Results of a mediational analysis showed that hostile attributions for instrumental aggression measured at T1 mediated the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms at initial assessment (T1) and self-reported peer victimization a year later (T2).

Discussion
These findings highlight the relevance of including cognitive components targeting the modification of maladapted attributions in the treatment of CSA victims, in order to minimize their vulnerability to further victimization. Moreover, school personnel could benefit from training to better identify children at risk of peer victimization and to tailor their interventions.

Authors

• Martine Hébert, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Presenting Author

• Amélie Tremblay-Perreault, Université du Québec à Montréal
  Non-Presenting Author