Childhood sexual abuse, as defined by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 1996), includes using persuasion, enticement, and other inducements to coerce a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or simulation of sexual acts. Survivors of sexual abuse frequently have a legacy of both psychological and physical problem throughout life. There has been considerable literature published in the past 20 years focusing on the long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse. Survivors cannot be stereotyped. Some transcend the experience and become outspoken advocates for societal change (Steed,1995). Others adopt risky life styles such as prostitution, promiscuity, and substance abuse. Recovery is possible (Steed 1995; Wilson,2009). Transcendence through the experience involves telling the secret and being supported. The therapeutic process is about opening to and remembering the truth, understanding the imprint of the sexual trauma, and discovering meaning in the experience (Parse, 1998; Steed, 1995). A strong incidence of long-term psychological problems exists for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. George (1996) found that adults who had experienced childhood sexual abuse were twice as likely to suffer from mental health disorder when compared to their counterparts who were nor abuse. Zlotnick, Mattia, Zimmerman (2001) found that patients with a history of childhood sexual abuses are at higher risk for psychiatric morbidity and prolonged depression. The study was conducted using 235 patients at a psychiatric outpatient facility with an range of 18-65 with a mean age of 47.4 years. A history of sexual abuse increases the risk of eating disorders. Higher rates of eating disorders are found ... ... middle of paper ... ...al abuse either as children or adult were found to have worse health outcomes than women who were not abuse, but the contribution of co-occurring child and adult abuse could not be examined. Women who experienced both child abuse and adult IPV and women who experienced adult IPV only were more likely to report chronic physical symptoms compared to women who had not experienced any violence. Conclusion I believe that it is very important that psychologists and psychiatrists start looking into a long term therapy for depression in children as opposed to choppy short term therapies that might prove to be less effective than those with a more longitudinal effect. In my opinion, I was very interested in the studies relating to the health consequences of childhood sexual abuse and how it was affected by each disorder.
An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Darness2Light, 2009a ). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. The definition of child sexual abuse is the force, coercion, or cajoling of children into sexual activities by a dominant adult or adolescent. Sexual abuse of children includes touching (physical) sexually including: fondling; penetration (vaginal or anal using fingers, foreign objects or offenders organs; oral sex, or non-physical contact including: sexual comments; indecent exposures; masturbating in a child’s presence; child prostitution or child pornography (Child Welfare, 2009a).
...ng one side of the story when it comes to the effects of child abuse on children. There is so much more that we don’t understand about the ramifications that we should be aware of. Neither of these studies shows both sides of the issues, but in combination both show a better overall picture to both sides. In conclusion, I think that both articles were well written and got their points across. I do however think there is an overall issue that we don’t understand sexual abuse to children and how to prevent it.
...hor, D. (1986). Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research. Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 66-77. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.66
Zlotnick, Caron, et al. (1996). The Relationship Between Sexual Abuse and Eating Pathology. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 20, 129 - 134
According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, an estimated 777,200 children were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect by a protective service agency in the United States in 2008, and 9.1% of these children were determined to have been sexually abused (Draucker, 2011). Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent problem in the United States that is associated with many long term psychological, behavioral, social and physical effects on men and women (Draucker, 2011). These effects can make a person’s life a living hell. They turn someone into a person that they may not have been if the tragic event didn’t happen to them.
It has been suggested that children who are victims of sexual abuse also become abusers themselves. Children of abuse have a higher probability of becoming a future abuser. Child abuse is characterized as any act that jeopardizes or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and growth. These acts include any harm done to a child who cannot be rationally explained and is often characterized by an injury or series of injuries seeming to be non-accidental in nature. The behaviors of child abuse can happen in both boys and girls leaving them with severe lifetime symptoms. Treatment is often necessary for them to overcome the actions done to them, but it is not always successful in curing the mutilation. However, the existence of one sign of child maltreatment does not mean child abuse is occurring within a home. Even with proper education, therapy, and validation one has the probability to become an abuser himself/herself.
...sical and mental health consequences of childhood physical abuse: Results from a large population-based sample of men and women. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031095/
Child abuse is a serious issue in today's society. Many people have been victims of child abuse. There are three forms of child abuse: physical, emotional, and sexual. Many researchers believe that sexual abuse is the most detremental of the three. A middle-aged adult who is feeling depressed will probably not relate it back to his childhood, but maybe he should. The short-term effects of childhood sexual abuse have been proven valid, but now the question is, do the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse affect middle-aged adults? Many contradicting views arise from the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Researchers and psychologists argue on this issue. Childhood sexual abuse has the potential to damage a child physically, emotionally, and behaviorally for the rest of his or her childhood, and the effects have been connected to lasting into middle-aged adulthood.
Feldman, W., et al. 1991. "Is Childhood Sexual Abuse Really Increasing in Prevalence?" Pediatrics 88: 29–33.
Pope HG, & Hudson JI (1992). Is childhood sexual abuse a risk factor for bulimia nervosa? American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 455-463.
Finelkhor, D., & Browne, A. (1985). The Traumatic Impact of Child Sexual Abuse: A Conceptualization. Durham: Famiy Violce Research Program.
In terms of physical health, victims of child sexual abuse have higher rates of diseases. In fact, when children abused sexually are too young to realize what sexual abuse is, they feel hurtful in some parts of their body especially genitals. However, child sexual abuse is also associated with physical health problems in adulthood. Adult survivors of child sexual abuse are at greater risk of a wide range of conditions that are non-life threatening and are potentially psychosomatic in nature. These include fibromyalgia, severe premenstrual syndrome, chronic headaches, irritable bowel syndrome and a wide range of reproductive and sexual health complaints, including excessive bleeding, amenorrhea, pain during intercourse and menstrual
Powell, Gloria Johnson, and Wyatt, Gail Elizabeth. Lasting Effects of Child Sexual Abuse. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1988.
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into