The Effect of Severe Child Sexual Abuse and Disclosure on Mental Health during Adulthood

Abstract

This study examined the relationship among severe child sexual abuse, disclosure, and mental health symptoms during adulthood. The sample consisted of 172 adults who were sexually abused in childhood. The multivariate model showed that respondents in their 30s and 40s who were abused by more than one abuser, who were injured by their abusers, who were abused by a biological relative, who told someone about the abuse when it occurred, and who did not discuss their abuse in depth within one year of the abuse had a greater number of mental health symptoms. Abuse severity and disclosure history should be assessed by professionals to identify clients who are at higher risk of mental health symptoms and to focus therapy.

Factors Associated with PTSD in Cases of Sexual Assault

“…In our study prevalence PTSD following a sexual assault was same in both male and female victims. Psychiatric symptoms are seen more in adolescence if the offender is a relative of the victim or assault had been repeated more than once [28]. A study in USA showed that people who are sexually assaulted by their relatives had more psychiatric diseases [29].…”

“…Physical findings following a sexual assault can disappear soon after the event therefore psychiatric findings are sometimes more valuable than physical findings [28,33,34].…”

The long-term relational impacts of child sexual abuse by a parent

“…My study will use my own life story as an incest survivor and those of seven other courageous women to shed light on the understudied area of relationship impacts. The rationale for doing the study is that there has been a lot of attention paid to the long-term impacts of CSA as it relates to post-traumatic stress disorder, disclosures of CSA, and health impacts, to name a few, but very little is known about the quality of relationships in a survivor's life (Burstow, 2003;Birrell & Freyd, 2006;Briere & Jordan, 2009;Fairweather & Kinder, 2012;O'Leary, Coohey & Easton, 2010;Van der Kolk, 2005;Haskell, 2003;Courtois & Ford, 2013;Hunter, 2006;Cloitre et al, 2006).…”

“…The term severe abuse in the literature is typically identified as involving: early age of onset; a parent or person in a parent role as the perpetrator; the sexual penetration of a child by an adult; and the frequency and duration of the sexual abuse throughout the child's life (O'Leary, Coohey, & Easton, 2010;Mullen & Fleming, 1998).…”

“…They (O'Leary et al, 2010) also identify that the severity of sexual abuse can be related to close biological relationships, especially parental abuse (p. 276). They (O'Leary et al, 2010) note specifically that "sexual abuse by a parent may result in confusion, a sense of betrayal, and harm the child's capacity for trust, intimacy, and selfagency during adulthood" (p. 277). Likewise, they (O'Leary et al, 2010) connect the severity of abuse to the frequency of sexual abuse and the persistence of sexual abuse over a long period of time (p. 277).…”