The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the process of surviving child abuse in people with a mental illness in order to develop an explanatory theory. The study utilized the grounded theory approach. Seventeen community-dwelling adults with a mental illness who had experienced child abuse were interviewed. For the in-depth interview, the lifeline interview method was used. Data were collected from July 14, 2019, to February 28, 2020. The constant comparative method was used for analysis, to identify similarities and differences between different statements, and similar phenomena or theories were compared and analyzed continuously. The central phenomena were “losing oneself” and “in a precarious state.” Participants used “expressing,” “standing on one’s own feet,” and “avoiding” as coping strategies. Observed outcomes were “making life work for them” and “living with others.” The core category was “losing myself, embracing myself as someone in a precarious state, and being reborn as the master of my life.” Positive religious coping, having a supportive network, and emotional or physical distance from difficult situations played a major role in surviving participants’ experiences of child abuse and being victimized because of their mental illness. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding people with mental illness who have survived child abuse, and suggest that opportunities for sharing their stories, facilitating self-reliance, and avoiding the causes of their difficulties all play a role in their healing process. Based on this study, it is expected that clinical experts and policy developers will be able to formulate evidence-based interventions and policies.

中文翻译：

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在精神疾病患者中幸存的儿童虐待：一种扎根的理论方法

这项定性研究的目的是检查患有精神疾病的人从虐待儿童中幸存下来的过程，以建立一个解释性理论。该研究采用扎根理论方法。采访了 17 名患有精神疾病的社区居民，他们曾遭受虐待儿童。深度访谈采用生命线访谈法。数据收集时间为2019年7月14日至2020年2月28日，采用常数比较法进行分析，找出不同陈述之间的异同，对相似现象或理论进行连续比较分析。核心现象是“迷失自我”和“岌岌可危”。参与者使用“表达”、“自立”和“回避”作为应对策略。观察到的结果是“让生活为他们服务”和“与他人一起生活”。核心类别是“迷失自我，将自己视为处于不稳定状态的人，并重生为我生命的主人。” 积极的宗教应对、拥有支持性网络以及与困难情况保持情感或身体距离在幸存参与者的虐待儿童经历和因精神疾病而成为受害者方面发挥了重要作用。我们的研究结果为理解从虐待儿童中幸存下来的精神疾病患者提供了理论基础，并表明分享他们的故事、促进自力更生和避免造成困难的原因的机会都在他们的康复过程中发挥了作用。基于这项研究，