Predictors of treatment outcome for a game-based cognitive-behavioral group treatment for children who have been sexually abused

Research has recently begun to identify factors that may moderate the effects of interventions for symptomatology associated with child sexual abuse (CSA). However, there is disagreement about which factors may be important for different populations. The present investigation examined predictors of treatment outcomes among 89 economically impoverished and culturally diverse CSA victims between the ages of six and ten, who were treated using a game-based cognitive-behavioral group therapy program (GB-CBT). It was hypothesized that all children would benefit from GB-CBT, regardless of the presence of abuse-related risk factors (i.e., degree of invasiveness of abuse, frequency of instances of CSA, use of force in the perpetuation of CSA, type of relationship to the perpetrator, and experiences of other forms of abuse) or differences in demographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity, household income). Treatment outcomes were operationalized as the extent of internalizing and externalizing symptoms, sexually inappropriate behaviors, and knowledge of abuse and personal safety skills. Results indicate that the level of household income resulted in differences in post-treatment internalizing symptoms, and that the type of force used to perpetuate the abuse impacted the acquisition of personal safety skills. No other variables were found to affect participants’ responsiveness to treatment. Thus, GB-CBT appears to be effective for treating a wide range of CSA victims irrespective of their varied abuse histories and symptomatology.Psy. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Atara Danielle Hille