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.
Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of
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.
It seems somewhat logical to assume that a person who has experienced sexual trauma might develop feelings of dissatisfaction as well as disgust with their own body—the medium of abuse. Also, one might even attribute the anti-pubertal effects achieved through self-starvation as a suppression of sexuality that may be desired by a survivor of sexual abuse. These hypotheses, as well as connections observed between sexual abuse and PTSD and also between anxiety disorders (of which PTSD is one) and eating disorders led many researchers to study this relationship. However, the large body of the studies contradict each other’s findings. Many studies have found no evidence of a relationship between sexual abuse and eating disorders and others have found evidence. In this paper, I would like to examine the results of studies that have been aimed at answering the question, “Is childhood sexual abuse a risk factor for eating disorders?”
...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 goes way back in history starting from the time when a little 10 year old girl got removed from her parents home in 1874. The case is connected to the founding of the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which gave rise to the founding of similar societies (National Association of Counsel for Children). Most children under the age of 3 tended to have a higher rate of victimization and girls had a higher risk than boys. Sexual abuse was frequently associated with family problems such as parental alcholism, parental rejection, and parental marital conflict (Bright Futures 4 Kids). Throughtout history, child abuse seems to be less crucial and likely than it was before because back then there was a lower rate of child care. Man...
Sexual abuse negatively affects a young child’s neurological development. It causes toxic stress, a type of stress which children are unable to manage by themselves. 7 According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, exposure to toxic stress during early childhood can impair and disrupt development of brain circuits, which “can cause an individual to develop a low threshold for stress, thereby becoming overly reactive to adverse experiences throughout life.”8 High levels of stress hormones can also affect the child’s immune system and cause “cog...
The psychological effects that are created through abuse often create physical side effects as well. These psychological effects, such as anxiety and depression, could cause reoccurring headaches, loss of appetite, insomnia, and many other physical effects due to growing up with a heightened stress response. Even after the abuse ends, adult survivors of childhood abuse are at a higher risk for many long-term problems including “…chronic pain and fibromyalgia, gynecological problems, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, headaches, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome”. Physical abuse usually causes more noticeable side effects than mental or emotional abuse, and they can also sometimes cause life-long problems. The longer the abuse occurs, the worse the repercussions will be. Long-term abuse can result in physical disabilities, brain damage, and even death. The amount of negative physical effects that come from childhood abuse show that the idea of positive physical effects coming from the situation as well is
This paper outlines the consequences of child sexual abuse (CSA) based on the examination of results from multiple researches previously fulfilled concerning the psychological and physical impact of this crime, information of statistics, warning signs detected, victims’ performances, and emotional state. Sexual abuse causes severe trauma on child victims that will last for the course of their lives, therefore it is critical to identify and improve the therapeutic methods utilized to treat CSA survivors.
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.
Childhood sexual abuse has been and continues to be a major issue in American society. Victims of such trauma can illustrate both short-term and long-term side effects, stemming from the damage endured during childhood. In severe cases, unresolved trauma of sexual abuse can have dire consequences. One of the most infamous and publicized case (cases) that illustrated these dire consequences was the Menendez murders of 1989.
Borderline Personality Disorder is one of many possible long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. Many of these affects demand intense therapy and demand that the victim be placed on anti psychotics.
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
"Childhood sexual abuse impacts sexuality development." Women's Health Weekly 17 July 2003: 50. General OneFile. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.