RESILIENCE CRITERIA AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH RESILIENCE IN SEXUALLY ABUSED GIRLS

Alternative measures of resilience and correlates of resilience were e xamined in a sample of 43 sexually abused girls who were assessed usin g a self-administered interview at the time of intake for psychotherap y. Results indicated relatively high levels of disagreement as to whic h girls were resilient using maintenance of social competence and abse nce of clinical levels of symptomatology as alternative criteria. Most girls that had maintained age-normative levels of social competence w ere, nonetheless, manifesting clinically significant levels of symptom s. A warm and supportive relationship with a nonoffending parent was a strong correlate of resilience, regardless of which criteria was used . Lower levels of abuse related stress, fewer negative cognitive appra isals of the abusive relationship, and less reliance on aggressive cop ing behaviors were also significant predictors of resilience based on the absence of clinical levels of symptomatology. However, parental su pport and level of abuse stress were the only two variables to enter a logistic regression model predicting resilience. The research and cli nical implications of these findings are discussed.