{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T20:22:42Z","timestamp":1792095762357,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,12]],"date-time":"2019-11-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1573516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001590","name":"Health Research Board","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001590","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Family Process"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>A child\u2019s disclosure of sexual victimization is a difficult experience for parents and has been associated with traumatization, disbelief, denial, self\u2010blame, and clinical difficulties. To date, most studies on parents\u2019 responses have been quantitative assessments of the psychological impact of disclosure on parents. A paucity of research has qualitatively explored mothers\u2019 experiences of their child\u2019s disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) and fathers\u2019 experiences have been even further neglected. The current study seeks to characterize parents\u2019 experiences of their child\u2019s disclosure of CSA and to uncover the process\u2010oriented nature of parental responses. This qualitative study, using a grounded theory approach to analysis, involved interviews with 10 mothers and four fathers whose children (3\u201318\u00a0years) had experienced sexual abuse. Three themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme\u2014making sense of the abuse in retrospect\u2014captured the process through which parents sought to make sense of their child\u2019s disclosure, focusing on why their child had not disclosed the abuse to them earlier, and how they had noticed something was wrong but misattributed their child\u2019s behavior to other factors. The second theme\u2014negotiating parental identity as protector\u2014reflected how parents\u2019 identity as a protector was challenged, their perception of their world had been forever altered, and they now experienced themselves as hypervigilant and overprotective. The final theme\u2014navigating the services\u2014pertained to parents\u2019 struggle in navigating child protection and police services, and feelings of being isolated and alone. These findings highlight the need for empathy and parental support following child disclosure of sexual victimization.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/famp.12507","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,12]],"date-time":"2019-11-12T12:38:32Z","timestamp":1573562312000},"page":"1773-1788","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":36,"title":["Parents\u2019 Experiences of Their Child\u2019s Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"59","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0204-7270","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rosaleen","family":"McElvaney","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dublin City University Dublin Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8746-4390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth","family":"Nixon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Trinity College Dublin Dublin Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,11,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_7_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1014274311428"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_3_1","first-page":"32","article-title":"An ecological analysis of child sexual abuse disclosure: Considerations for child and adolescent mental health","volume":"19","author":"Alaggia R.","year":"2010","journal-title":"Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1524838017697312"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1744-1617.2009.01278.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1300\/J070v08n02_04"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2013.11.010"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1524838014526307"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260503260324"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_10_1","volume-title":"Attachment and loss, Vol. 3: Loss, sadness and depression","author":"Bowlby J.","year":"1980"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_11_1","volume-title":"Constructing grounded theory","author":"Charmaz K.","year":"2006"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1077559512451787"},{"key":"e_1_2_7_13_1","volume-title":"Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents","author":"Cohen J. 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