Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adolescents who have been sexually abused commonly experience trauma symptoms, and many spend considerable time waiting for treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the extent to which adolescent perceptions of divine spiritual support, divine spiritual struggles, and self-blame collected during a screening assessment predict trauma symptoms at the beginning of treatment. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 224 adolescents (92.9 % female, Mean age = 13.46 years; 53.6 % identified as Hispanic/Latino/a and 24.1 % Black/African American). All obtained services at a Children's Advocacy Center in the southern United States. METHODS: Adolescents reported on trauma symptoms, divine spiritual support, divine spiritual struggles, and self-blame appraisals at a screening assessment (T1). Trauma symptoms were also reported a second time when beginning treatment (T2). RESULTS: The mean level of trauma symptoms declined over time for the total sample, t(223) = 9.37, p < .001, d = 0.63. Greater divine spiritual struggles (β = 0.10, t[219] = 1.98, p = .049, sr(2) = 0.02) and self-blame for the abuse (β = 0.11, t[219] = 2.03, p = .044, sr(2) = 0.02) at the screening assessment were associated with higher levels of trauma symptoms at the beginning of treatment, controlling for sex, trauma symptoms and age at the screening assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing adolescents' divine spiritual struggles and self-blame for sexual abuse may be important in triage and treatment planning for youth who have experienced sexual abuse.