The Contribution of Cognitive Strategies to the Resilience of Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Non-Abused Women.

This study examines the contribution of four strategies-self-forgiveness, realistic control, unrealistic control, and hope-to the resilience of 100 women survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), as compared with 84 non-sexually abused women. The findings show that CSA survivors exhibited lower resilience, lower self-forgiveness, lower hope, and higher levels of posttraumatic symptoms (PTS). They also indicate that resilience was explained by the participants' financial status, PTS severity, and two cognitive strategies-self-forgiveness and hope. Finally, PTS and hope mediated the relation between CSA and resilience.