The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Coping with Interpersonal Conflict in Adulthood

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and the adult woman's ability to cope with interpersonal conflict. Seventy women participated in the study. They were placed in one of two groups: sexually abused during childhood (SAC) or not abused during childhood (NAC). The subjects were recruited from several self-help groups and mental health facilities. The subjects completed inventories which measured coping strategies, problem solving abilities, attributional style, and assertion style and dating comfort. It was found that the SAC group members perceived less personal control than the NAC group when dealing with problem situations. The two groups also differed in their attributional styles for good and bad achievement events. The SAC members were more inclined to view negative events as internal, stable and global than were the NAC group members. For positive events, the NAC group viewed the events as more internal and global than the SAC group.