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Childhood sexual abuse and its effects on adulthood
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Research Paper Childhood Sexual Abuse and Resiliency The lasting effects of childhood sexual assault into adulthood can be debilitating is resiliency possible. I chose this topic because it is of great interest to me I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Upon starting the research, I had preconceived notions of what would be found. Lasting effects can be, low self-esteem, sexual promiscuity, sexual issues, attachment issues, suppression of the abuse, PTSD, grieving a lost childhood, and a feeling of always wanting to be in control of situations. In addition, I expected to find some might suffer from nightmares, eating disorders, poor academic achievement, OCD issues, a feeling of inferiority and not fitting in, as well as parental rejection. To coin a phrase from Friedrich Nietzsche, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” (Nietzsche, 2001-2011 ©) I believe with a proper support system of family, friends, and counseling resiliency can and will prevail. Upon completion of the research, it was appalling to find additional side effects of childhood sexual abuse in the form of anxiety, depression, the feeling that they could have prevented the abuse, and thoughts of suicide. Further effects include sexual anxiety and disorders, including too many sexual partners, prostitution, and poor parenting skills later in life. Children may have a difficult time setting safe limits with others (e.g. saying no to people) and relationship problems, poor body image, eating problems, unhealthy behaviors, such as alcohol, drugs, and self-harm. These behaviors are often displayed to try to hide painful emotions related to the abuse go back and make sure this is complete deb! (Child Welfare Information gateway, 2008). Search engines... ... middle of paper ... ..., A. (2009). wikipedia. (Education Canada) Retrieved April 5, 2011, from www.wikipedia.org: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_resilience Nietzsche, F. (2001-2011 ©). BrainyQuote. Retrieved April 27, 2011, from www.BrainyQuote.com: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/friedrichn159167.html Psychiatry, A. A. (2004). Child Sexual Abuse. Washington, D.C, U.S.A. Retrieved April 22, 2011, from www.aacap.org. Psychiatry, A. A. (2008, May). www.aacap.org, No. 9 (05/08). Retrieved April 25, 2011, from American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Rand, M. (2009, September 1). "Criminal Victimization, 2008". Retrieved April 25, 2011, from Washington, D.C: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv08.pdf Wrenn, L. J. (2003). Trauma: Conscious and unconscious meaning. Clinical Social Work Journal , 31(2), 123-137.
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.
Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of
Within the last few decades there has been an increase in public awareness concerning child sexual abuse. Child abuse is defined as intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harming. However most people don’t understand that there are different forms a child abuse; they include physical, neglect, and sexual abuse. Child abuse is widespread, one that most topics people would rather not think about. For the longest time individuals have been in denial because it’s easier when everyone believes that they live in a perfect world.
[5]. House, Ellen. "Book Review." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 50.9 (2011). MD Consult. Web. .
Interpersonal difficulties are common in a sexually assaulted person. A person having interpersonal difficulties may be withdrawn from society due to their inability to regulate emotion and their way of thinking. Victims with interpersonal difficulties usually remain single and if they marry, they are more likely to divorce than someone who hasn’t been sexually abused. Adults who are sexually abused may have a problem with being intimate. They may be fearful of being vulnerable and maybe even being re-victimized (Briere and Elliot1994). Research has revealed that there is a link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and increased vulnerability in adulthood. This is known as re-victimization. Re-victimization can come in the form of adult sexual assault or abuse, physical abuse or psychological maltreatment (Journal of Interpersonal Violence May 2000).
When a child experiences any kind of sexual violation including rape, various areas of health are impacted. Young kids who have had to encounter such occurrences undergo drastic changes in their brain chemicals and behavioural
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
The long-term effects of sexual abuse can vary from person to person. However, there is no doubt that it causes long-term psychological damage to survivors of all ages. This paper will be addressing the long-term effects childhood sexual abuse. These long term effects include mental health concerns, over sexualized behaviour and sexual identity/development issues. These are only some of the effects that sexual abuse can have on its victim.
According to an article,” A Conceptual Model of Post-Traumatic Growth among Children and Adolescents in the Aftermath of Sexual Abuse”, mentions that
Probably one of the most damaging, and longest lasting effects of assault, is the emotional turmoil that follows afterwards. Every victim’s response is unique, and they suffer from a range of emotional disorders, from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Survivors of sexual assault are more likely to become depressed, anxious, engage in risky behavior, develop an eating
Handbook Of Social Work In Child And Adolescent Sexual Abuse (1 ed.). (2008). New York: Haworth Press.
Child abuse is defined as any non-accidental action or behaviour by a adult, older child or adolescence that is outside the normal demeanour and enables a significant risk that causes physical or emotional harm to the child or the youth (Price-Roberston, 2012). Child sexual abuse is hard to define, as it is very different in a multitude of cases, however in this report child sexual abuse is defined as in Tomlinson's (2000) study as “the use of a child for sexual gratification by an adult or significantly older child/adolescent". Child sex abuse is seen as the cause in many mental health problems later in adult life. Multiple scholarly articles as well as Mullen and Fleming (1998) study concluded that child sex abuse has significant
Childhood sexual abuse leads to negative consequences that result in a many psychological problems during adulthood such as sexual dysfunction, sleep deprivation, and low self-esteem. It is important to analyze the post traumatic implications that may result as soon as childhood or as late as adulthood. I investigated 3 main factors that may affect the victim, such as the relationship between
When thinking of the effects of childhood events on adults, one might ask how does childhood sexual abuse affect a person in their adult life? The effects of childhood abuse on adults is a subject that has recently gained momentum in the research world. Being an adolescent sexual abuse survivor, this issue means a great deal to me. This problem needs further acknowledgement in our society, so that maybe people will think again before acting on their intent to abuse another human being. The research in the following text can benefit you by informing you of the signs and symptoms of childhood abuse in adulthood, look into the effects of childhood abuse on next generation parenting, define what childhood abuse actually is, and review the influence it can have on a person in their adult life.
Toni, C. J. (2000). Sexualized children and children who molest. SIECUS Report, 29(1), 35-39. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/ docview/229667689?accountid=3783