My abstract for my dissertation: I need thoughts and response to my abstract:

The purpose of this research is to determine if women with a history of childhood sexual abuse used their tattoo as the main therapeutic tool in their healing. Long-term negative effects of childhood sexual abuse on mental and physical developmental health have been linked to negative coping styles. However, identified research on body modification as a coping method shows that many factors promote positive coping styles from which the effects are lifelong. Some factors which promote positive coping styles are related to alternative therapy options and understanding the relationship between the body and mind in body concepts. Looking at Feminine Post-Structural Theory provided evidence that female identity affects psychological and physical behavior toward the body and self. This research used a qualitative background using a narrative review. The narrative review offered a comprehensive account of the key events in the participant’s sexual abuse experience. The narrative accounts of the participants offered an in-depth and personal view of past sexual trauma and its effects. Body art such as the tattoo is proposed to help women survivors regain positive identity, which offers therapeutic value in the healing process. Current coping theories lend toward the idea that the tattoo experience acts as a specific therapeutic tool in the recovery of childhood sexual trauma as reported by the personal account of the survivors.