New research to support families impacted by child sexual abuse

New research from Bond University will help develop a tool to support families whose lives have been impacted by child sexual abuse. 

Lead researcher Dr Cher McGillivray said parents often blame themselves or are unable to forgive themselves for abuse suffered by their child, leading to ‘moral injury’ which puts them at higher risk of severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and suicide. 

Also often known as vicarious trauma, people can experience moral injury when they witness or are exposed to violence or human suffering or its aftermath, and it can have far-reaching impacts. 

It’s particularly common in military personnel, but recent research has shown the devastating impacts on the parents and loved ones of abuse victims. 

“A recent study we conducted on a sample of 151 non-offending parents in Australia found that they were blaming themselves, not others, and were unable to give themselves self-compassion,” Dr McGillivray said.  

“They essentially feel as though they have committed ‘moral violations’ by being unable to prevent the abuse and with this came a 47 per cent risk of increased PTSD symptoms. 

“One of the reasons we want to better understand moral injury is that its specific symptoms are often left untreated. Medical care in these situations tends to focus on the PTSD without addressing the thoughts and beliefs of ‘moral failure’ these parents are experiencing.” 

“Moral injury has a negative impact on the recovery of not only the parent but the child as well. Parents can help their children by providing a sense of safe and secure attachment, but that can be a challenge for parents dealing with these kinds of internal struggles of their own.” 

Dr McGillivray’s team runs a free program, Parenting Beyond Trauma, to help carers dealing with the impact of child sexual abuse. They’re also calling for non-offending parents whose child has experienced sexual abuse to take an anonymous survey as part of their work on developing new trauma-informed interventions. 

“The goal of the research is to better understand the phenomenon of moral injury, develop an assessment and treatment tool, and ultimately help these parents recover and rebuild their lives,” she said. 

“But the applications of this work reach far beyond the tragedy of child sexual abuse – there are many people suffering deeply as a result of moral injury caused by exposure to trauma. 

“Doctors are just one example. What is frequently referred to as ‘physician burnout’ or ‘compassion fatigue’ may actually result from the moral conundrums that the contemporary healthcare system presents. The suicide rate for doctors is twice that of the general population. 

“Our hope is that this research will help us develop a suite of supports that can be used across the spectrum for others at high risk such as teachers, police and emergency service workers and medical professionals, as well as parents.” 

Take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/g8r7aH22 

For more information on the Parenting Beyond Trauma program, visit: https://bond.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51NsMTeB2mghzAW