The Prevalence of Coping Behaviour, Posttraumatic Growth and Psychological Well-Being in Women who Experienced Childhood Sexual Abuse Hayley J. Walker-Williams Chrizanne van Eeden Karen van der Merwe North-West University, South Africa Address correspondence to Dr. H. J. Walker-Williams, P.O. Box 1685, Vereeniging 1930, South Africa. E-mail: Hayley. williams@nwu.ac.za This study investigated the prevalence of coping behaviour, posttraumatic growth and psychological well-being in adult South African women (n=60, mean age=32, ethnicity=70% European, 28% African and 2% Asian descent). Specifically, the study considered the prevalence of constructive coping, posttraumatic growth and psychological well-being with a history of childhood sexual abuse. All participants self-reported being sexually abused before the age of 18 years. They completed measures of coping, posttraumatic growth, and psychological well-being, in a cross-sectional survey design. Results showed moderate to high correlations among scales indicating conceptual coherence as indicators of constructive coping, posttraumatic growth and psychological wellness. About 58% of participants manifested constructive coping, 60% manifested posttraumatic growth, and 42% manifested psychological well-being. These women survivors of childhood sexual abuse had higher levels of posttraumatic growth than reported in previous studies. Keywords: women, childhood sexual abuse, constructive coping behaviour, posttraumatic growth, psychological well-being, positive psychology Women who survive childhood sexual abuse (CSA) often report numerous and varied long-term effects stemming from their experience, which include a range of intra- and interper- sonal difficulties (Allen, 2008; Spies, 2006b). Researchers have begun to focus on gaining a better understanding of the risk and protective factors that affect psychological functioning in the face of CSA (Carlson & Dalenberg, 2000). For instance, the trauma of CSA is unique and different to any other childhood trauma. The authors further suggest that CSA victims may de- velop abuse-related schemas and coping strategies that are adaptive and reflect integration, but which may be “dysfunc- tional in coping with a world where abuse is not the norm” (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985, p. 533). Relatively little research has been done on how victims cope with the experience of having been abused sexually as a child and whether or not CSA influences a survivor’s coping styles. The identification of coping strategies used by abuse survivors may contribute to a better understanding of factors that protect adaptive functioning and those that put it at risk (Futa, Nash, Hansen & Garbin, 2003). Coping Coping refers to a range of diverse cognitions and behav- iours used to manage the internal and external demands of a stressful or threatening situation (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Zeidner and Endler (1996) distinguished between three main coping strategies that individuals use when faced with a stress- ful situation: problem-focused (in which a person attempts to change the situation that caused the stress), emotion-focused (in which a person attempts to reduce or manage the emotional distress cued by the situation) and avoidant (where the person seeks to avoid the problem) coping strategies. For all three cop- ing styles, a distinction may be made between functional and dysfunctional strategies. Earlier research hypothesised that problem-focused coping was the more effective form of coping when struggling with the aftermath of CSA; however, more re- cent research shows that emotion-focused coping illuminates positive outcomes for trauma survivors (Reynolds & Kee Hean, 2007). Posttraumatic Growth The coping task confronting the trauma victim is nothing short of overwhelming, yet in the face of their profound coping challenges, trauma survivors often discover new personal strengths and possibilities (Janoff-Bulman, 2006). Aldwin (1994) refers to this as transformational coping, which the au- thors Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004a, p. 1) have expanded on and termed “posttraumatic growth”. Posttraumatic growth is defined as the “positive psychologi- cal change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004a, p. 1). Ac- cording to Linley (2003), such positive changes can underpin a whole new way of living that embraces the central tenets of pos- itive psychology, specifically the experience of positive emotion, the finding of purpose and meaning and the building of strengths and virtues (Seligman, 2002). In the process of posttraumatic growth, growth does not occur as a direct result of trauma; it is instead the individual’s struggle with the new reality in the aftermath of trauma that is crucial in determining the ex- tent to which posttraumatic growth occurs (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004a). Journal of Psychology in Africa 2012, 22(4), 617–626 Printed in USA - All Rights Reserved Copyright Ó2012 Journal of Psychology in Africa ISSN 1433-0237