Psychopathology in a large cohort of sexually abused children followed up to 43 years

Cutajar, Margaret; Mullen, Paul E.; Ogloff, James R. P.; Thomas, Stuart; Wells, David; Spataro, Josie

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.04.004

Cited by 401 publications

(307 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…It can lead to a variety of physical and mental health problems in childhood and later adulthood (Cutajar et al, 2010; Irish, Kobayashi, & Delahanty, 2010). Globally, some one in 10 children, more girls than boys, are sexually abused before the age of 18 (Stoltenborgh et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual abuse in very young children: a psychological assessment in the Amsterdam Sexual Abuse Case study

Duin

Verlinden

Vrolijk-Bosschaart

et al. 2018

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a worldwide problem affecting children of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. A knowledge gap exists regarding the psychological outcomes for children, boys in particular, who are abused during their early lives.Objective: To provide a descriptive psychological profile of children who experienced sexual abuse as infants or toddlers from a male daycare worker and babysitter, and to assess the psychopathological impact on their parents.Method: Parents of children involved in the Amsterdam Sexual Abuse Case (41 parents; 44 children, age range 3–11 years, 30 boys, 14 girls) completed measures on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociation, sexual and non-sexual behaviour problems, and attachment insecurity in their children, as well as on parental psychological well-being, 3 years after disclosure. Sexual abuse characteristics were obtained from police records.Results: We found that 3% of confirmed child victims had PTSD, 30% sexual behaviour problems, 24% internalizing problems, 27% attachment insecurity, and 18% any psychiatric disorder (including PTSD); 39% were asymptomatic. In parents, we found feelings of guilt, shame, and anger about the abuse of their child; 19% showed PTSD symptoms and 3% showed avoidant and 8% anxious attachment problems in their intimate relationship. Parental symptomatology was related to child symptomatology, except for child sexual behaviour problems. One-quarter of confirmed child victims and 45% of parents had received psychological treatment.Conclusions: Three years after disclosure, extrafamilial CSA in very young children was associated with sexual and non-sexual behaviour problems and attachment insecurity, but rarely with PTSD or dissociation. For parents it was associated with PTSD symptoms and emotional reactions. Assessments and interventions should focus on the wide spectrum of problems that follow CSA, as well as on parental psychopathology and the parent–child relationship. Future follow-up assessments in our longitudinal study should provide insights into longer-term outcomes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual abuse in very young children: a psychological assessment in the Amsterdam Sexual Abuse Case study

Duin

Verlinden

Vrolijk-Bosschaart

et al. 2018

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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“…This could be relevant, as the nature of individuals’ psychological dysfunction might differ as a function of the age at which the abuse was experienced (Cutajar et al, 2010). To this end, studies examining the effects of adverse childhood events on the severity of PTSD indicate that certain types of experiences at specific sensitive periods have stronger impact on and more predictive strength for symptom development than others.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of childhood sexual abuse on the outcome of intensive trauma-focused treatment for PTSD

Wagenmans¹,

Minnen

Sleijpen

et al. 2018

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: It is assumed that PTSD patients with a history of childhood sexual abuse benefit less from trauma-focused treatment than those without such a history. Objective: To test whether the presence of a history of childhood sexual abuse has a negative effect on the outcome of intensive trauma-focused PTSD treatment. Method: PTSD patients, 83% of whom suffered from severe PTSD, took part in a therapy programme consisting of 2 × 4 consecutive days of Prolonged Exposure (PE) and EMDR therapy (eight of each). In between sessions, patients participated in sport activities and psycho-education sessions. No prior stabilization phase was implemented. PTSD symptom scores of clinician-administered and self-administered measures were analysed using the data of 165 consecutive patients. Pre-post differences were compared between four trauma groups; patients with a history of childhood sexual abuse before age 12 (CSA), adolescent sexual abuse (ASA; i.e. sexual abuse between 12 and 18 years of age), sexual abuse (SA) at age 18 and over, or no history of sexual abuse (NSA). Results: Large effect sizes were achieved for PTSD symptom reduction for all trauma groups (Cohen’s d = 1.52–2.09). For the Clinical Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES), no differences in treatment outcome were found between the trauma (age) groups. For the PTSD Symptom Scale Self Report (PSS-SR), there were no differences except for one small effect between CSA and NSA. Conclusions: The results do not support the hypothesis that the presence of a history of childhood sexual abuse has a detrimental impact on the outcome of first-line (intensive) trauma-focused treatments for PTSD.

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“…Also, Prigerson et al in 1996 found that psychological abuse and parental loss were risk factors for the development of adult psychiatric disorders [5]. In SAD [9] and PTSD [10], childhood traumas include physical abuse [11][12][13], sexual abuse [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and emotional abuse [19][20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Early Developmental Trauma in Social Anxiety Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Bishop¹,

Riedl²,

Bakelaar³

et al. 2015

Holistic Perspectives on Trauma

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Background: The early contributions of childhood trauma (emotional, physical, sexual, and general) have been hypothesized to play a significant role in the development of anxiety disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD). The aim of this study was to assess childhood trauma differences between PTSD and SAD patients and healthy controls, as measured by the Early Trauma Inventory.

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Psychopathology in a large cohort of sexually abused children followed up to 43 years

Cited by 401 publications

References 55 publications

Sexual abuse in very young children: a psychological assessment in the Amsterdam Sexual Abuse Case study

Sexual abuse in very young children: a psychological assessment in the Amsterdam Sexual Abuse Case study

The impact of childhood sexual abuse on the outcome of intensive trauma-focused treatment for PTSD

An Analysis of Early Developmental Trauma in Social Anxiety Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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