Levels of Social Support and Coping Strategies in Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Abstract

The study examined the effects of levels of social support and types of coping strategies on the psychological adjustment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Five hundred students from two universities in the Limpopo Province of South Africa participated in this study (males =115, females = 383). Mixed methods were used for the collection and data analysis. Higher the level of social support received correlated with superior psychological adjustment. The specific types of coping styles adopted did not affect psychological adjustment in the survivors.