NCJ Number
159593
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Directed mainly to foster parents, this videotape presents an interview with a child psychiatrist who discusses the common psychological symptoms and behavior patterns of children who experienced sexual abuse at an early age and summarizes the roles of foster parents, the caseworker, and mental health professionals in assisting these children.
Abstract
The discussion notes that these children often display extreme behavioral problems and that their main need is for appropriate parenting. Their behavior can be bizarre and clusters into three types of problems: (1) withdrawn behavior that may lead to urinating in heating systems or leaving feces in a sofa, (2) protesting behavior such as making strange animal noises or having aggressive outbursts, and (3) pseudomature behaviors that manipulate other members of the household. Helping professionals were often skeptical that these symptoms indicated severe sexual abuse in early childhood. However, the emergence of the concept of post- traumatic stress disorder among war veterans or victims of rapes or natural disasters has resulted in acceptance of these concepts. Children's behavior can include severe sleep disturbances, flashbacks, and reenactments and can become manifest as multiple personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. Antidepressant medications can be helpful, although a combination of secure parenting, casework, and psychiatric intervention is needed. A team approach among the foster parents, biological parents, mental health professionals, and caseworkers can assist the child in reaching the goal of integrated development. Vignettes involving three children