NCJ Number
172302
Date Published
1996
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Sexual abuse is a relatively common experience in the lives of children, and sexually abused children typically suffer psychological effects.
Abstract
Of great concern is the fact that such experiences not only produce immediate difficulties but also constitute a significant risk factor for the development of subsequent health, psychiatric, and life functioning difficulties. Important mediating variables in child sexual abuse include abuse characteristics and family support. Child sexual abuse characteristics vary, depending on the data source, and multiple abuse episodes are common. In clinical samples, both sex and race are associated with differences in abuse experiences and circumstances. Families with a child who has been sexually abused have certain characteristics. For example, empirical studies indicate families of both incest and nonincest sexual abuse victims are less cohesive, more disorganized, and generally more dysfunctional than families of nonabused individuals. Research conducted over the past decade shows a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are prevalent among children who have been sexually abused. These problems concern emotional distress and dysfunction, post-trauma effects, behavioral problems, impaired interpersonal relations, and cognitive difficulties and distortions. Child sexual abuse also causes a variety of problems in adult life. Risk factors for child sexual abuse and ways in which child sexual abuse is accomplished are identified. Treatment issues with both children and adults are discussed, and additional research is recommended to follow children into adulthood and study the effects and treatment of child sexual abuse in more detail. 172 references