Disparate plasma cortisol concentrations in sexually abused female children from Johannesburg, South Africa

A Short Form of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children

“…Current estimates indicate that approximately one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before age 18 (American Psychological Association, 2014; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). Consequences of CSA in youth may include changes to biological stress response systems (e.g., alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning; Keeshin, Strawn, Out, Granger, & Putnam, 2014; Muller, Errington, Szabo, Pitts, & Jacklin, 2014); cognitive functioning and learning ability (Jones, Trudinger, & Crawford, 2004); behavior problems, including aggression (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2008; Hornor, 2010); and sexual behavior problems (Allen, Thorn, & Gully, 2015). Additionally, psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociative disorders, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders (Ruggiero, McLeer, & Dixon, 2000), along with interpersonal problems and revictimization (Finkelhor, Ormrod, & Turner, 2007) are commonly reported.…”