A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship Between Nonoffending Caregiver Support and Postdisclosure Functioning in Sexually Abused Children

Abstract

Postdisclosure caregiver support has long been considered a key factor in the functioning of children after their disclosure of sexual abuse, and numerous studies and reviews support this relationship. Yet, a closer look at this literature suggests that support for this relationship might not be as strong or consistent as reported. The purpose of this article is to review studies assessing the relationship between caregiver support of sexually abused children and postdisclosure functioning of their children. Studies were collected using various search engines, and the tables of contents of certain child maltreatment journals were reviewed. To be included, studies had to be published prior to 2012 and to quantitatively capture the bivariate relationship between a quantified assessment of nonoffending caregiver (NOC) support anytime after the child’s sexual abuse disclosure and a quantified assessment of at least 1 of the 11 types of postdisclosure functioning in the children. Twenty-nine studies met the criteria to be included. In the meta-analysis, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation, transformed to a Fisher’s Z, was used as the effect size. Potential moderators of effect size were also coded and assessed. Postdisclosure caregiver support was significantly related to 3 of the 11 different types of postdisclosure functioning in children. However, the largest effect size was .170, and 8 of the 11 types of postdisclosure functioning in children had effect sizes smaller than ±.100. Few moderators of the relationship between NOC support and postdisclosure functioning in children were found. Minimal support for the relationship between caregiver support of sexually abused children and children’s postdisclosure functioning was found. At this time, it is impossible to determine whether this weak relationship can be attributed to the many methodological weaknesses in the measurement of caregiver support or whether caregiver support is not related to postdisclosure functioning in children.