Protective Factors in Adolescents with Histories of Sexual Abuse: Integrative Review
revisión integrativa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59471/psicologia2026220Keywords:
childhood and adolescent sexual abuse, cognitive resilience, protective factors, developmental trauma, adolescenceAbstract
Abstract
Childhood and adolescent sexual abuse [CASA] is a potentially traumatic experience associated with heterogeneous psychological, functional, and neurocognitive trajectories. The aim of this study was to identify, analyze, and integrate protective factors associated with cognitive resilience in adolescents with histories of CASA. An integrative review of verifiable scientific literature was conducted through a systematic search of academic sources, resulting in a final documentary corpus of 21 documents published between 2003 and 2026. The analysis was organized around individual, cognitive, relational, school-based, community, and intervention-related factors. Findings indicate that cognitive resilience does not depend on a single isolated factor, but rather on multisystemic protective configurations. The main protective factors identified were self-efficacy, emotion regulation, active coping, reduction of global self-blame, emotional support from caregivers and significant adults, validation of disclosure, educational continuity, protective school environments, and access to evidence-based interventions. These factors contribute to reducing symptom burden, sustaining attentional and executive resources, supporting learning, and promoting recovery trajectories. The study concludes that cognitive resilience in adolescents with histories of CASA should be understood as a dynamic, contextual, and non-linear process shaped by the interaction among neurocognitive development, trauma characteristics, social responses, subjective resources, and protective environments.
Keywords: childhood and adolescent sexual abuse; cognitive resilience; adolescence; protective factors; developmental trauma.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Martin Omar Zelaya (Autor/a)
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