Marie Tylsova, L. Mickey Fenzel, Ph.D.
God Images, Self-Compassion, and Santification of Body in CSA Survivors
Abstract
The problem of childhood sexual assault (CSA) is a widespread issue across the world
(Pereda, Guilera, Forns, & Gomez-Benito, 2009) and research clearly points to the
negative effect of CSA on one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development
(Barrett, 2009; Batool & Abtahi, 2017). Literature also evidences positive benefits
of God images, sanctification of body, and self-compassion on one’s overall well-being
across different populations (Dahm et al., 2015; Homan & Cavanaugh, 2013; Jacobson
& Anderson, 2013). This non-experimental and correlational quantitative study examined
relationships between God images, sanctification of body, self-compassion, and mental
health well-being in 112 CSA survivors who were recruited on Amazon Mechanical Turk.
The construct of God image was examined by Acceptance, Benevolence, and Presence scales
(Lawrence, 1997). Sanctification as “a process through which aspects of life are perceived
as having divine character and significance” (Pargament & Mahoney, 2005, p.183) was
measured by Sacred Qualities and Manifestation of God in Body scales (Mahoney et al.,
2005). The researcher obtained a diverse sample that consisted of more males (58%)
than females (40.2%) who were of Asian (50.8%), White (33%), and African American
(7.1%) ethnicities. Results showed that there were no significant gender differences
in God images, self-compassion, and sanctification of body. As expected, self-compassion
was positively correlated with sanctification of body scales. Additionally, significant
group differences in psychological distress, self-compassion, and God images were
present between Asians and Whites, between Christians and non-Christians, and between
less and more educated participants. However, some of the results of the study were
at odds with those expected based on the literature review. For instance, self-compassion
and sanctification of body were not found to be negatively correlated with psychological
distress. The uniqueness of this sample may have been a confound in this study. Characteristics
of this sample will be discussed alongside the findings, implications for practices,
and future research.
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