Self-Blame and Self-Destruction in Women Sexually Abused as Children

Abstract

ABSTRACT Women who have been sexually abused as children often experience self-blame and self-destructive behavior as adults, and stigmatization resulting from self-blame has been suggested as a mediating factor. Two studies were conducted to assess the relationship between self-blame and self-destructive behavior in women sexually abused as children: (1) In a clinical sample of women sexually abused as children, high self-blamers were compared with low self-blamers on depression, self-destructive behavior, and reasons for living. Women who had high self-blame were more depressed and suicidal, were more likely to have self-mutilated, and had weaker survival and coping beliefs than low self-blamers; (2) In a college sample, women who had high self-blame were more depressed and suicidal, had weaker survival and coping beliefs, and had more fear of suicide and fear of social disapproval than low self-blamers. Depression, self-blame, and reasons for living predicted a significant amount of the variance in suicidality. Together, these results suggest that self-blame is an important variable in understanding the self-destructive behavior in women sexually abused as children.