Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department/Program

Psychology

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Nicole Lytle

Committee Member

Jason Dickinson

Committee Member

Elizabeth Jeglic

Committee Member

Tarika Daftary-Kapur

Abstract

Child sexual abuse is a serious and prevalent problem in the United States and is associated with negative consequences across numerous life domains (e.g., psychological, physical, socioeconomic). Disclosure of sexually abusive experiences may facilitate victims’ abilities to obtain psychological, social, and legal support. It has been theorized that sexual grooming plays a role in decreasing the likelihood of disclosure and of disclosures being believed. Therefore, this dissertation examined associations among sexual grooming, other barriers, and disclosure decisions and timing. Participants were recruited and screened online for eligibility to participate in a survey examining details of the abuse, trauma-related shame, disclosure decisions and consequences, and sexual grooming experienced throughout the abuse process. No statistically significant associations were observed between 42 sexual grooming behaviors and disclosure decisions or timing within the current sample. A model including victim age at the onset of abuse, retrospective Trauma-Related Shame Inventory score, perpetrator-victim relationship, and stage-based scores for the five stages of the Sexual Grooming Model was statistically significant for predicting disclosure delay, but not for distinguishing between participants who disclosed while under the age of 18 years and those who did not for the current sample. The findings of the current study, alongside descriptive findings related to experiences of CSA, trauma-related shame, disclosure, and sexual grooming, are discussed in reference to the current literature, practical implications, and future directions.

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