As helping professionals, CDPs need to be sensitive to the reality of their clients, who sometimes carry with them a history marked by difficult experiences. Men who were sexually abused in childhood and adolescence (MSAC) live with traumas that can have a negative impact on many aspects of their lives, including their professional commitment. Because of their traumatic experiences, MSACs are more prone to the development of multiple psychological disorders, such as attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) or major depression. They also have poorer-than-average academic results, adjustment difficulties, poor self-confidence and trust in others, higher unemployment rates, and lower earnings.
In their study, Samson and colleagues wanted to determine whether MSACs’ relationship with work includes an expressive value, i.e., whether professional activity contributes to a quest for self-fulfillment and identity actualization. To this end, the research team met with 28 men who had used the support services of MSAC organizations in Montreal, Sherbrooke, and Trois-Rivières, all in Québec.
Major differences between the reality of MSACs and that of the general male population were revealed: over 50% of MSACs were diagnosed with mental health disorders, compared to 9.7% of the general male population. The study also shows that having been assaulted by a family member is particularly damaging to feelings of self-efficacy at work, professional self-concept, and job satisfaction. However, the professional self-concept was more positive for MSACs who sought psychological help than those who did not.
The interviews show that the MSACs’ relationship with work is greatly affected by the traumas they have experienced. For some, the relationship to work is lacking in ambition and professional fulfillment. In these cases, work has a primarily instrumental value. For others, work is rather a form of escape, a way of fleeing painful memories: one respondent compares work to drugs in order to forget his past. The MSACs’ relationship with work can also be seen as a way of regaining control over their existence, for example by adopting a profession of authority or by being highly efficient at work. Finally, for other respondents, work is rather a source of anxiety and fear – especially when socializing at work.
Considering these results, the authors conclude that the psychological dimensions necessary for self-realization (emotional regulation, sense of identity, and relational capacities) are affected by sexual abuse. MSACs’ relationship with work is therefore reduced to its instrumental dimension. Yet MSACs deserve their work to be a source of happiness, meaning, and fulfillment: CDPs can contribute to this goal through their intervention.
How Negotiating Affects Job Offers
What do you say when the people you serve ask if negotiating poses a risk to getting a job offer? Here’s evidence for you.
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