ATTRIBUTIONS OF BLAME AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND ADULT ADJUSTMENT

Both clinical and empirical work suggest that attributions of responsi bility and blame for child sexual abuse may be important determinants of subsequent adjustment Measurement of the attributions has been prob lematic, however and has hindered the conclusions that can be drawn. I n this study, measures were developed that assess three types of attri butions-self-blame, family blame, and perpetrator blame. The examinati on of the relationships between attributions and adjustment in a study of 154 adult women sexually abused as children found that both self-b lame and family blame were related to some indicators of poor adjustme nt In addition, there was a three-way interaction among blame types an d one indicator of adjustment. These results suggest that the relation ships between attributions and adjustment may be more complex than pre viously indicated.