Mediators of the long-term impact of child sexual abuse: perceived stigma, betrayal, powerlessness, and self-blame.

Using a community sample of 192 adult women who had been sexually abused during childhood, the present study tested the hypothesis that perceived stigma, betrayal, powerlessness, and self-blame mediate the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. A path analysis indicated that the level of psychological distress currently experienced by adult women who had been sexually abused in childhood was mediated by feelings of stigma and self-blame. This result provides partial support for Finkelhor and Browne's (1985) traumagenic dynamics model of child sexual abuse. The limitations of the study are discussed.