Introduction: Child sexual abuse (CSA) constitutes a severe violation with long-term psychological consequences for survivors. Beyond its well-documented mental and physical health risks, CSA may involve uncertainty regarding the labeling of the abusive experience, a phenomenon referred to as ambivalent acknowledgment. Prior research suggests that ambivalent acknowledgment has significant clinical, legal, and social implications. Trauma theory further proposes that the unique victim-perpetrator relationship, particularly processes of identification with the aggressor (IWA), may contribute to survivors' difficulty in acknowledging abuse. However, the relationship between IWA and ambivalent acknowledgment has not yet been empirically examined.
Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the association between IWA and ambivalent acknowledgment of CSA and to examine whether IWA profiles explain ambivalent acknowledgment beyond key characteristics of the abuse.
Method: An online survey was conducted among a sample of 437 Israeli adult female CSA survivors (M = 34.10, SD = 9.50). Participants completed self-report measures assessing ambivalent acknowledgment, IWA, and CSA characteristics, including perpetrator gender, perpetrator role in the survivor's life, abuse severity, and abuse recurrence.
Results: Of the sample, 106 participants (24.3%) acknowledged CSA, while 331 (75.7%) reported ambivalent acknowledgment. Higher levels of IWA were significantly associated with ambivalent acknowledgment. Logistic regression analyses indicated that participants characterized by a higher IWA profile were more than twice as likely (OR = 2.59) to report ambivalent acknowledgment, even after controlling for CSA characteristics.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that survivors' ambiguity regarding CSA labeling may be rooted in identification with the aggressor. These results highlight IWA as a meaningful psychological mechanism underlying ambivalent acknowledgment and underscore the potential value of therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing IWA to support survivors in acknowledging and processing their abuse.