TAT Assessment of Sexually Abused Girls: An Analysis of Manifest Content

Abstract

Manifest content of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT: Murray, 1943) stories of 30 sexually abused female children and a clinical group of 30 female children with no documented history of abuse was examined using the Scoring Scheme for the TAT and Other Verbal Projective Technique (Fine, 1955a). The two groups were similar demographically, and did not differ with regard to the overall frequency of negative feelings and outcomes. Significant group differences were found when specific negative feelings were investigated, with subjects in the abuse group having higher frequencies of stated sexual preoccupation than nonabused comparison subjects. In addition, higher frequencies of expressed guilt on the part of abuse subjects can be considered secondary to their overconcern with sexuality. Findings support the utility of the TAT in identifying victims of sexual abuse by the examination of manifest content.