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Ambivalence of Nonoffending Guardians after Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure

Boston University

J. Leah Lamb

St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital

A concern in the intervention with sexually abused children is the support of their nonoffending guardians after disclosure of the abuse. Approximately a third of nonoffending guardians respond with vacillation in support, and these nonoffending guardians are at greater risk for having their children removed. This article reconceptualizes vacillation in support as an ambivalent response. Drawing on the interdisciplinary literature, this article suggests that ambivalence in support reflects the confluence between the nonoffending guardian’s valence toward the child and perpetrator. This article further proposes that ambivalence is normative when the costs of disclosure are high and when the nonoffending guardian is ambivalent/preoccupied in attachment. Ambivalence may also be both a precursor to and an effect of the traumatic experience of the disclosure on the nonoffending guardian. In a study of 30 nonoffending mothers whose partners sexually abused their children, these relationships were supported.

Key Words: ambivalence • child sexual abuse • guardian support • maternal support

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				C. A. Plummer and J. Eastin The Effect of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations/ Investigations on the Mother/Child Relationship Violence Against Women, October 1, 2007; 13(10): 1053 - 1071. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. M. Bolen and J. Leah Lamb Can Nonoffending Mothers of Sexually Abused Children Be Both Ambivalent and Supportive? Child Maltreat, May 1, 2007; 12(2): 191 - 197. [Abstract] [PDF]