Complex Multilayered Abuse (CMA): A Survivor-Led Conceptual Framework for Understanding Persistent Multilayered Abuse Structures

This preprint proposes the Complex Multilayered Abuse (CMA) framework, a survivor-led conceptual model developed through longitudinal lived-experience documentation and qualitative conceptual analysis.

The CMA framework integrates eight categories of abuse into a unified structural model: physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, economic abuse, social abuse, secondary abuse, and institutional non-responsiveness. The model further organizes these experiences into developmental phases and proposes a five-layer mechanism explaining the persistence and reinforcement of abuse-related experiences.

Unlike symptom-focused frameworks such as Complex PTSD, CMA focuses on structural and systemic dimensions of abuse, including the role of institutional non-responsiveness as a potentially active factor in the maintenance of abuse.

This work is presented as a preliminary N-of-1 conceptual framework and is intended to stimulate discussion, interdisciplinary review, and future empirical investigation.

Author: Tatsuki Nakamura

Keywords:
Complex Multilayered Abuse (CMA), Child Abuse, Complex Trauma, Institutional Non-Responsiveness, Survivor Research, Developmental Trauma, Abuse Structure, Qualitative Conceptual Analysis

Note:
This manuscript is a preprint and has not undergone peer review.