NCJ Number
115139
Journal
Psychotherapy Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1987) Pages: 160-170
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Eight sexually abused youong children were assessed repeatedly with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) during a 10-18-month period to systematically explore the course of psychological symptoms that emerged in response to the abuse.
Abstract
In addition to interviews with the parent and child, the mother completed a CBCL on the child and was invited to participate in a study that would involve repeatedly measuring the child's behavior over the study period. Five of the eight children entered therapy with one of the authors or with a therapist under his supervision. During the course of treatment, a common pattern was for the depression and somatic complaints to give way to an increase in aggressiveness. Another prevalent pattern was for sexual problems to emerge and persist for some time. Improvement in the children was never linear; some children showed improvement, followed by regression or improvement in some areas and not in others. The children who did not receive treatment did not experience a remission of symptoms; in fact, they deteriorated with almost every assessment. Children who received treatment improved in their overall functioning, as determined by parental reports and the therapist's impressions. 11 references, 2 tables, 8 figures. (Author abstract modified)