Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
Student Wellness and Counselling Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
BMC Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 28;22(1):666. doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04279-2.
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is predictive of poorer mental health, greater psychiatric disorder risk, and lower positive mental health (PMH) during adulthood, outcomes potentially moderated by social support. The current study aimed to explore whether Canadian adults who have experienced CSA differ from those who have not in terms of PMH and social support. Within the CSA sample, it was further investigated whether gender differences exist with respect to PMH and social support, and if particular social support subscales predict PMH.
Using data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey - Mental Health (CCHS-MH), 1,328 adults between 20 and 64 years reporting CSA were profiled and compared in terms of sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, using an age, sex, and frequency matched sample of non-CSA adults. Social Provisions Scale (SPS), and the Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC-SF) means were subsequently compared between the CSA and non-CSA samples, and Hierarchical regressions were conducted for CSA males and females separately to examine whether SPS subscales predicted PMH after controlling for age and income.
Canadian adults reporting CSA had significantly lower PMH and social support (overall and for particular subscales). For adult CSA females, guidance, social integration, and reassurance of worth predicted higher PMH, while attachment and reassurance of worth predicted higher PMH scores for CSA males.
Adults who have experienced CSA are at risk for lower PMH and social support. Gender differences are also evident in social support subtypes that predict PMH which have important clinical implications.
儿童期性虐待（CSA）可预测成年后心理健康状况较差、精神疾病风险更高和积极心理健康水平（PMH）较低，这些结果可能受到社会支持的调节。本研究旨在探讨经历过 CSA 的加拿大成年人在 PMH 和社会支持方面是否与未经历过 CSA 的成年人存在差异。在 CSA 样本中，进一步调查了 PMH 和社会支持方面是否存在性别差异，以及特定的社会支持子量表是否可以预测 PMH。
使用 2012 年加拿大社区健康调查-心理健康（CCHS-MH）的数据，对 1328 名 20 至 64 岁报告 CSA 的成年人进行了分析，并与非 CSA 成年人进行了年龄、性别和频率匹配的样本进行了比较。随后比较了 CSA 和非 CSA 样本之间的社会支持量表（SPS）和心理健康连续体-短表（MHC-SF）均值，并分别对 CSA 男性和女性进行了层次回归，以检验 SPS 子量表是否可以预测 PMH，同时控制年龄和收入。
报告 CSA 的加拿大成年人 PMH 和社会支持（总体和特定子量表）显著较低。对于成年 CSA 女性，指导、社会融合和价值保障预测 PMH 较高，而依恋和价值保障预测 CSA 男性的 PMH 较高。
经历过 CSA 的成年人 PMH 和社会支持较低。在预测 PMH 的社会支持亚型方面也存在性别差异，这具有重要的临床意义。
