The Contribution of Desire for Revenge and Perceptions of Injustice to Adolescent CSA Survivors’ Wellbeing

Seventy adolescent survivors of childhood sexual abuse (Mage = 10.88, SD = 2.90) and one of their parents participated in a study aimed at better understanding the contribution of desire for revenge to distress symptoms and post-traumatic growth (PTG) through the mediation of self-concept. In addition, two moderation mediation models examined the possibility that survivors’ perceptions of injustice would moderate the relationship between the desire for revenge and self-concept, which, in turn, would predict their distress symptoms or PTG. The mediation model results indicated that survivors’ global self-concept fully mediated the association between survivors’ desire for revenge and their distress symptoms. In addition, the moderation mediation analyses indicated that a high desire for revenge increased survivors’ global self-concept, consequently decreasing distress symptoms in survivors with average or low perceived injustice. High levels of desire for revenge increased survivors’ global self-concept, which, in turn, increased PTG in survivors with average or low perceived injustice. These results point to the mutual contribution of survivors’ desire for revenge and perceived injustice to their wellbeing.