Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population
Victims of childhood trauma report shame and anticipation of stigma, leading to non-disclosure and avoidance of help. Stigma is potentially aggravating the mental health consequences of childhood trauma. So far there is no comprehensive study examining stigma toward adult survivors of various forms...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8523057/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1818838089259286528 |
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| author | Georg Schomerus Stephanie Schindler Theresia Rechenberg Tobias Gfesser Hans J. Grabe Mario Liebergesell Christian Sander Christine Ulke Sven Speerforck |
| author_facet | Georg Schomerus Stephanie Schindler Theresia Rechenberg Tobias Gfesser Hans J. Grabe Mario Liebergesell Christian Sander Christine Ulke Sven Speerforck |
| author_sort | Georg Schomerus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Victims of childhood trauma report shame and anticipation of stigma, leading to non-disclosure and avoidance of help. Stigma is potentially aggravating the mental health consequences of childhood trauma. So far there is no comprehensive study examining stigma toward adult survivors of various forms of childhood trauma, and it is unclear whether stigma interferes with reaching out to affected individuals. In a vignette study based on a representative sample of the German general population (N = 1320; 47.7% male) we randomly allocated participants to brief case vignettes pertaining to past childhood sexual/physical abuse or accidents, and adult physical abuse. Stigma was elicited by applying the Social Distance Scale, assessing respondents’ attitudes/stereotypes toward the persons in the vignette and their reluctance to address the specific trauma in conversation. While one aim was to establish the prevalence of stigma toward persons with CT, we hypothesized that attitudes differ according to type of trauma. Of the respondents, 45% indicated they were unlikely to reach out to a victim of childhood sexual abuse, 38% to a victim of childhood physical abuse, 31% to someone reporting a childhood accident and 25% to someone reporting adult physical abuse. Contrary to our expectations, childhood sexual abuse did not consistently elicit more stigma than childhood physical abuse in Krukall-Wallis tests. Equally, childhood interpersonal trauma did not consistently elicit more stigma than childhood accidental trauma. Structural equation modeling revealed social distance as mediator of the relationship between negative stereotypes and reluctance to address childhood trauma in conversation. Our analyses further revealed an ambiguous role of negative stereotypes in addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma victims, which has yet to be examined. There is evidence for stigma associated with having survived childhood trauma, which is interfering with offering help. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T03:32:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63ce2113b2b44218baa25f90989fdd84 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T03:32:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-63ce2113b2b44218baa25f90989fdd842022-12-21T20:37:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-011610Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general populationGeorg SchomerusStephanie SchindlerTheresia RechenbergTobias GfesserHans J. GrabeMario LiebergesellChristian SanderChristine UlkeSven SpeerforckVictims of childhood trauma report shame and anticipation of stigma, leading to non-disclosure and avoidance of help. Stigma is potentially aggravating the mental health consequences of childhood trauma. So far there is no comprehensive study examining stigma toward adult survivors of various forms of childhood trauma, and it is unclear whether stigma interferes with reaching out to affected individuals. In a vignette study based on a representative sample of the German general population (N = 1320; 47.7% male) we randomly allocated participants to brief case vignettes pertaining to past childhood sexual/physical abuse or accidents, and adult physical abuse. Stigma was elicited by applying the Social Distance Scale, assessing respondents’ attitudes/stereotypes toward the persons in the vignette and their reluctance to address the specific trauma in conversation. While one aim was to establish the prevalence of stigma toward persons with CT, we hypothesized that attitudes differ according to type of trauma. Of the respondents, 45% indicated they were unlikely to reach out to a victim of childhood sexual abuse, 38% to a victim of childhood physical abuse, 31% to someone reporting a childhood accident and 25% to someone reporting adult physical abuse. Contrary to our expectations, childhood sexual abuse did not consistently elicit more stigma than childhood physical abuse in Krukall-Wallis tests. Equally, childhood interpersonal trauma did not consistently elicit more stigma than childhood accidental trauma. Structural equation modeling revealed social distance as mediator of the relationship between negative stereotypes and reluctance to address childhood trauma in conversation. Our analyses further revealed an ambiguous role of negative stereotypes in addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma victims, which has yet to be examined. There is evidence for stigma associated with having survived childhood trauma, which is interfering with offering help.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8523057/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Georg Schomerus Stephanie Schindler Theresia Rechenberg Tobias Gfesser Hans J. Grabe Mario Liebergesell Christian Sander Christine Ulke Sven Speerforck Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population PLoS ONE |
| title | Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population |
| title_full | Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population |
| title_fullStr | Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population |
| title_short | Stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors: A study in the general population |
| title_sort | stigma as a barrier to addressing childhood trauma in conversation with trauma survivors a study in the general population |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8523057/?tool=EBI |
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