Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a wide range of negative outcomes including physical and mental health difficulties. Research shows the impact of ACEs are greater for those who face four or more traumatic events in their childhood, with strong associations between ACEs and sexual risk-taking, offending behaviour, and reduced education. It is likely those are at-risk of certain trauma, like sexual abuse, are more likely to have had other traumas as well. The current project screened through family assessments of young people involved in CSATS (Child Sexual Abuse Therapeutic Service) to look for all ACEs experienced by the cohort, as other factors could be contributing to difficulties for this group of young people. The CSATS cohort experiences more traumas during childhood than the general population, indicating a higher risk of physical and mental health difficulties. It was also found that the highest levels of trauma were between young people and their caregiver (parental substance use, mental health, separation, and domestic violence), indicating a lack of support from home. We also found higher levels of neurodiversity than in the general population. These results show a need to consider possible trauma during assessment and intervention while working with young people who have experienced sexual abuse to work with them in a more effective way. These results should be interpreted with caution due to possibility of underestimation of difficulties, however, is a good starting point to considering different ways we can work with the population served by CSATS.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.