The impact of Sexual Abuse on Children

It was not until recent that studies would present the impact sexual abuse has had on children. Little is known about adults who have been sexually abused. A sexually abused child has been an unspoken phrase dating as far back as the early 1970s (Finkelhor, 1984). Studies on those children who have been sexually abused are rare, although they are presented at a disproportionate rate to their counterparts. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is based on official statistics which concurs with the preceding statement (Briere & Runtz 1986). According to the National Incidence Studies, there has been a 67 percent increase in all forms of abuse from the years 1986 to 1993 involving children. Although there was a decrease of child sexual abuse, of the 67 percent only 10 percent comprised of child sexual abuse cases (Jones, 2001). Various reasons have been the cause for this decrease, such as…..

Child sexual abuse is a topic spoken about very loosely in the era we now live. After conducting my research, I would later learn that empirical research would guide me into journals with a broader spectrum on the topic. This topic interests me in more ways than one. Although my research does not deal with the mind frame of the offender, it does help me understand victimology or the relationship between the offender and the victim; which will be discussed later in this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of sexual abuse on juvenile victims, if any at all. A meta-analysis will be conducted combining at least ten (10) professional journals and books. The importance of this study depicts the everlasting traumatic effect that sexual abuse has on children and whether the impact is no more than immediate or ...

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...xual abuse was rare early on, when conducted it was combined with adults who too were abused. Some studies specified child abuse by gender, focusing either on boys, or only girls. Methodologies used by researchers had some limitations as well. Some depended on clinician’s reports rather than self-reports from the victim. In early research, longitudinal studies were not conducted.

CONCLUSION:

This meta-analysis reconfirms prior research findings; the impact of child sexual abuse can be traumatic, everlasting, and symptomatic. Nevertheless, some sexually abused children may never experience any interpersonal symptoms. These findings have a number of important implications for theory development (Tackett, Williams, & Finkelhor). There has not been a proven relationship between sexual abuse and suicide since a third event can produce both (Briere & Elliot).