Mental health challenges facing male survivors of child sexual abuse: implications for mental health nurses

Viliardos, LA; Murphy, N; McAndrew, SL

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is an issue of epidemic proportions in the United Kingdom (UK) and an international public health problem. Evidence suggests that in the UK one in twenty children have been sexually abused, with one in three not telling anyone about it at the time of the abuse. Conservative estimates suggest that around one in six men have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. CSA has been correlated with the development of numerous mental health problems, abused men often displaying externalising behaviours, including substance misuse, ‘risky’ sexual behaviours, anti-social behaviour, and offending. This paper reports on one aspect of a research study focusing specifically on male survivors of CSA and its effect on their mental health. Using narrative research, face to face interviews were used to collect the stories of four men who participated in the research. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis used a two-phase approach; initially, each narrative was analysed as a whole, with an across transcripts analysis then being carried out identifying shared themes emerging from the individual stories. Whilst findings from the second phase of the analysis identifies four themes, it is the theme of ‘Blocking the Memories’ that is the focus for this paper. Making a valuable contribution to existent knowledge regarding the experiences of men who were sexually abused as children, this paper will help to inform mental health practitioners who are likely to deliver care to male survivors of CSA.

Citation

Viliardos, L., Murphy, N., & McAndrew, S. (2022). Mental health challenges facing male survivors of child sexual abuse: implications for mental health nurses. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13087

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 13, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Nov 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 7, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 24, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 8, 2023
• Journal: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
• Print ISSN: 1445-8330
• Publisher: Wiley
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13087
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13087
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Viliardos, L., Murphy, N. and McAndrew, S. (2022), Mental health challenges facing male survivors of child sexual abuse: Implications for mental health nurses. Int J Mental Health Nurs., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13087. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited."