Long‐term effects of sexual abuse which occurred in childhood: A review

Abstract

The psychological problems and difficulties experienced by adults who report having been sexually abused in childhood are reviewed. These long-term effects include damage to the victims' emotional reactions and self-perceptions, relationship problems, problems with sexuality and difficulties in social functioning. Common presenting problems of victims of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are described. Also discussed are the characteristics of incestuous abuse in terms of the victim, the abusive relationship and its termination; the contributions of the various aspects of CSA to the psychological impact of such abuse; and psychodynamic explanations of the development of long-term effects. The bulk of the published material regarding the long-term effects of CSA refers to female victims only, and this 'bias' is reflected in the review.

The experience of childbirth for survivors of incest

“…Coker (1990) and Lowery (1987) stipulate an age difference, for example, whereas Felitti (1991) does not. Incest almost universally implies sexual activity between family members but the definition of 'family' varies (Cahill et al 1991), usually direct and step relatives are included. The sexual activities, which may or may not be defined (Lowery 1987, Felitti 1991, sometimes only refer to physical contact (Zdanuk et al 1987, Brown & Garrison 1990 or can include all forms of sexual exploitation (Rew 1989, Coker 1990.…”

“…It has been demonstrated that many incest survivors may have specific long term problems. Some long term problems of survivors may include: feelings of powerlessness; sexual dysfunction; low self esteem; depression; menstrual problems and problems with relationships and touching (Lowery 1987, Briere & Runtz 1987, Rew 1989, Felitti 1991, Cahill et al 1991.…”

“…The possibility that certain life events may trigger symptoms and issues regarding prior abuse has been mentioned by a number of researchers (Lowery 1987, Cahill et al 1991. Heins et al (1990) note that transition points in psychosexual development such as the birth of a child are risk periods for survivors of incest and Gelinas (1983) calls these 'developmental triggers'.…”

Child sexual abuse and subsequent psychopathology: results from the National Comorbidity Survey

“…7,9,[12][13][14][15][16][17] CSA has also been linked to substance problems and dependence. 1,7,[9][10][11][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Although there have been several informative review articles, [26][27][28][29][30] to our knowledge no previous studies have examined the associations between CSA and a range of mood, anxiety, and substance disorders in a nationally representative sample of individuals in the United States.…”

Características y consecuencias de las agresiones sexuales en adolescentes consultantes en un centro de salud sexual y reproductiva

“…Que la violencia sexual sea más frecuente en las mujeres puede ser explicado por diferencias de género a nivel cultural en la que la mujer, no importando su edad, es considerada como propiedad del varón. A pesar de que una mujer puede ser atacada sexualmente en cualquier etapa de su vida, la etapa más vulnerable es la niñez y la adolescencia (1)(2)(3)(4).…”