Preventing College Drop-out of Child Sexual Abuse Survivors

Aim: Half of students with either a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) or college sexual assault drop out of college (Banyard & Cantor, 2004). While some CSA survivors are able to successfully attain higher education, others struggle to graduate (Canton-Cortes & Canton, 2009). Students with CSA histories are often dealing with trauma symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and additional somatic complaints (Eisenberg, Gollust, Golberstein, & Hefner, 2007). This study examined which trauma symptoms of CSA survivors predicted higher education attainment.

Methods: After IRB approval was obtained, a retrospective survey study was conducted online by placing links to SurveyMonkey on adult survivor of child sexual abuse websites. A final sample of 297 adult survivors were anonymously surveyed about their experiences. The measures used were 1) CSA Subscale of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI; DiLillo, Hayes-Skelton, Fortier, Perry, & Evans, 2010), 2) Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40; Elliott & Briere, 1992), and demographics questions to assess highest level of education attained from high school through PhD. Linear Regressions and Multiple Linear Regressions were used to assess the relationships between the independent variables and education levels of CSA survivors.

Results: Four subscales (Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Problems, and Sexual Abuse Trauma) of the TSC-40, and Total scores on the TSC-40, were significantly negatively predictive of higher education attainment, in that as trauma symptoms rose, higher education declined (all p’s < .05). Moreover, whereas caregiver’s education level positively predicted CSA survivors’ education levels, dissociation and dissociative amnesia negatively predicted the DV (both p’s <.05). Multiple Linear Regressions suggest that Total TSC-40 scores and caregiver’s education level were significant predictors of CSA survivors’ education levels.

Conclusions/Implications: Higher education provides CSA survivors with knowledge, power, and control over the direction of their lives. However, the results of this study suggest that trauma symptoms prevent students from completing higher education. College student drop-outs due to trauma symptoms is preventable, in that there are interventions that render people with PTSD asymptomatic (e.g. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy or Exposure Therapy). Thus, the prevention of college drop out in these cases becomes a matter of screening students for trauma symptoms, and having the right kinds of therapy available for them. Furthermore, this study suggested that caregiver education level predicted offspring education level, so by creating an environment that allows traumatized students to succeed, this can impact generations to come.