Recovering the Lost Soul: Older Women's Reflections on Past Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse.

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) is a social problem with longstanding effects on victims' lives. While scholarly literature has focused on the adverse aftermath of sexual abuse, only a few studies have acknowledged older women's perspectives on their experience of IFCSA and their journey of healing and recovery. The aim of the present study was to explore how older survivors of IFCSA construct and shape their experience of healing in later life and the meaning they assign to this process. Narrative inquiry was selected to explore the narratives of 11 older women survivors of IFCSA. Participants were interviewed using a biographical narrative interviewing method. The narratives were then transcribed and analyzed using thematic, structural, and performance analyses. Four major themes emerged from the participants' narratives: Achieving closure; Spiritual framing of IFCSA as a platform for self-growth; Becoming whole in old age; and Looking to the future after IFCSA. During the aging years, IFCSA survivors may redefine their identity and their place in the world. Using life review processes, older women in this study were striving to heal and reconcile with their past.

Growing Older in the Shadow of Childhood Intrafamilial Sexual Abuse: Women's Reflections on Parenthood Experiences Throughout the Life Course.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The long-term effect of intrafamilial sexual abuse for the survivors' parenting rarely focuses on older women who are mothers of adult children. The aim of this study was to explore the parenthood experiences of aging women survivors of intrafamilial sexual abuse, using the life course perspective as a conceptual framework. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the narratives of 19 older women survivors of intrafamilial sexual abuse. RESULTS: The narratives revealed 4 themes: (a) "How did I raise those kids? I really do not know": Early parenthood experiences of aging women incest survivors; (b) "This is a true gift they are giving me now": Revealing the intrafamilial sexual abuse secret to the adult children; (c) "Is it possible to say that something good came out of it?": Adult children as a victory over incest experiences; and (d) "When my granddaughter was born, I suddenly felt that I could not go near her": Grandparenting in the shadow of incest memories. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Aging seems to open up a new avenue for parent-child relationships in the shadow of the parent's traumatic past, allowing reframing of parenthood in later life and demonstrating the power of parenthood as a source of healing in the lives of sexual abuse victims.