Impact of Sexual Abuse on Sexual Identity Formation in Gay Men

• NCJ Number: 224805
• Journal: Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 17 Issue: 3/4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 359-376
• Author(s): Stephen Brady
• Date Published: November 2008
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For related articles in this special issue see NCJ-224796-804, and NCJ-224806-07

Annotation

This article describes the incidence of childhood abuse in the lives of gay men and the probable impact of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA).

Abstract

The results suggest that gay men are at increased risk for a range of trauma experiences, including childhood sexual abuse, physical assault, and verbal harassment. In order to assist gay men who are abused, it is important to understand the developmental challenges they experience trying to reconcile an affirmative identity in the context of abuse. Mental health professionals should adopt a normative frame for gay identity development. The Homosexual Identity Formation (HIF) Model discussed in this article provides such a framework. Efforts should be made to determine a gay/bisexual client’s HIF stage of identity formation and interventions should be designed accordingly. Prior to beginning treatment, abuse histories should be taken for all gay clients, including questions about CPSA. In addition to questions about physical and sexual abuse, assessments for gay and bisexual individuals should include questions about harassment related to gender atypical behavior in childhood and other forms of gay specific abuse/harassment. Each gay and bisexual male client should also receive a risk assessment for HIV/AIDS and primary and secondary prevention intervention as needed. Upon completion of an initial assessment, trauma treatment protocols can be modified and successfully utilized with traumatized gay men. There is also a need for clinicians, who are sensitive to the issues of gay identity development to be engaged in prevention and advocacy designed to reduce the incidence of CPSA and to protect the needs of gender atypical boys. Efforts may include educating the clergy about sexual abuse as well as treating clergy who are at risk for abusing children and may have other mental health disorders. References