Social support and children's and adolescents' adaptation to sexual abuse

Limited research exists examining factors mitigating the negative effects of sexual abuse. This report, based on a sample of 154 participants, analyzes how social support helps explain variations in child and adolescent psychological distress at the time of sexual abuse discovery. Adolescents, compared to children, are less likely to feel supported by parents and other adult relatives, but are more likely to view friends as support resources. As expected, support from a parent is related to less psychological distress, while the use of primarily friends for support is related to increased adjustment difficulties. The findings indicate that developmental period and source of support are important to consider in understanding how support functions as a protective factor.