The term parent includes custodial and noncustodial parents. †The terms maltreatment and abuse are often used interchangeably in the literature. However, in this article, maltreatment is a general term that includes both abuse and neglect; abuse refers explicitly to acts of commission, whereas neglect refers specifically to acts of omission. ‡ 2008 is the most recent year for which statistics are available (US Department of Health and Human Services 4 ).
Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a significant problem with
significant short and long term consequences. However, extant literature is
limited by the reliance on retrospective recall of adult samples, single-time
assessments, and lack of longitudinal data during the childhood and adolescent
years. The purpose of this study was to compare internalizing and externalizing
behavior problems of those with a history of sexual abuse to those with a
history of maltreatment, but not sexual abuse. We examined whether gender
moderated problems over time. Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Studies of
Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) at ages 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 (N
= 977). The Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess internalizing
and externalizing problems. Maltreatment history and types were obtained from
official Child Protective Services (CPS) records. Generalized Estimating
Equations (GEE) were used to assess behavior problems over time by maltreatment
group. Findings indicated significantly more problems in the CSA group than the
maltreated group without CSA over time. Internalizing problems were higher for
sexually abused boys compared to girls. For sexually abused girls internalizing
problems, but not externalizing problems increased with age relative to boys.
This pattern was similar among maltreated but not sexually abused youth. Further
efforts are needed to examine the psychological effects of maltreatment,
particularly CSA longitudinally as well as better understand possible gender
differences in order to best guide treatment efforts.
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