Psychology researchers at Université du Québec à Montréal investigated “the relationships among self-blame, shame, coping strategies, posttraumatic stress disorder, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation” among sexually abused adolescent girls. Researchers focused specifically on suicidal ideation because “sexual abuse is the adverse life event most consistently and strongly associated with suicide among young people aged 10-25 years.” Findings suggest that interventions and victim advocacy for sexually abused adolescent girls must target the role of shame. The full report is available through the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.
