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Dissertation Information for Edwina Skiba-King

NAME:
- Edwina Skiba-King

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Rutgers University (USA) (1993)

ADVISORS:
- Lea Stewart

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Hartmut Mokros
- Richard F. Hixson
- Mary de Chesnay

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: An examination of the patterns of self-reported disclosure by incest survivors

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to gather in-depth information about self-reported patterns of incest disclosure and to generate theory about the nature of communication relative to the disclosure of incest.

Disclosure of immoral acts in organizations has been reported in the literature and identified as the phenomenon of whistle-blowing. There is an increasing interest in the study of the family as an organization. In organizations, whistle-blowing involves immoral, illegal, and unethical acts. One such act in the family is incest.

Research questions addressed the antecedents, content, context, and sequelae of disclosure. Two research methods were used. Part One of the study was the life history of two incest survivors--one who disclosed during childhood and one who disclosed in adulthood. Part Two was a survey of therapists who counsel incest survivors.

Four themes and eight subthemes emerged from the life history data that represent the dynamics of the lived experience of incest and its subsequent disclosure: coping (eating disturbances, sports, spirituality); self-image (feeling like a "phony," moral person); communication barriers (boundaries, rigidity, protectiveness); and communication facilitators (protectiveness). These themes have implications for both the identification and treatment of incest.

The predominant themes and attempted patterns of disclosure suggest that basic communication skills and communication opportunities could play a role in identification and treatment of incest survivors. The insider's perspective of the family situation adds to our understanding of the barriers and potential facilitators of communication and potential disclosure.

The disclosure pattern most often reported to therapists was compared with the life history data and with the pattern of disclosure reported in the whistle-blowing literature. Patterns of disclosure of incest match the whistle-blowing pattern in several cases: disclosure during childhood matched the whistle-blowing sequence; and the whistle-blowing pattern was identified by 8.9% of the therapists surveyed as the pattern typically reported by survivors. Frequency distributions of the individual steps reported by the therapists demonstrate a hierarchial pattern consistent with the whistle-blowing pattern.

Consideration of the data from Part 1 and Part 2 of the study suggests new ways to conceptualize disclosure.


MPACT Scores for Edwina Skiba-King

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:10:04

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