The Impact of Sexual Abuse Committed by a Child on Mental Health in Adulthood

Allen, Brian; Tellez, Alexandra; Wevodau, Amy L.; Woods, Carol; Percosky, Amy

doi:10.1177/0886260513517550

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Because student samples also involve retrospective selfreport, they are not generalizable to the general population (Allen, Tellez, Wevodau, Woods, & Percosky, 2014 Median age: boys: 9.9 years; girls: 9.6 years. Boys more likely to be abused by strangers (40% vs. 21%), and younger offenders.…”

Section: Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cycle of Abuse: When Victims Become Offenders

Plummer

Cossins

2016

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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Various psychological theories exist in the literature to explain the behavior of men who commit child sex offences, including the belief that child sexual abuse (CSA) is a predisposing factor for the transition from victim to offender. These theories are, however, unable to explain the fact that while most victims of CSA are female, most perpetrators of CSA are male. The sex specificity of CSA in terms of victims and offenders suggests that the experience of CSA and its psychosocial effects may be different for boys, compared to girls. We hypothesize that CSA experiences may involve risk factors that affect the development of sexually abusive behavior for boys, rather than girls. Our aim was to determine whether the literature provides evidence of a cycle of abuse from victim to offender, and, if so, to document its characteristics. We undertook a comprehensive literature review of studies on both victims and offenders, including studies which revealed the following: age of onset of CSA, duration of abuse, gender of the abuser, the relationship between victim and abuser, grooming behaviors, the types and severity of abuse, and disclosure of abuse. While we found no evidence for the existence of a cycle of abuse for female CSA victims, we discovered evidence to support the existence of a cycle of abuse for male CSA victims who had experienced particular abuse characteristics. As an original contribution to the literature, we identified four factors that may be associated with a boy's transition from victim to offender as well as the methodological issues to be addressed in future research. Based on criminological theories, we argue that these four factors share a common theme, that is, that they represent experiences of power (for the abuser) and powerlessness (for the victim).

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Section: Study Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cycle of Abuse: When Victims Become Offenders

Plummer

Cossins

2016

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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“…In one community-based study of approximately 2,000 women, those with a history of childhood physical or sexual abuse had an increased risk of depression and anxiety and were more likely to have attempted suicide than women without such a history (Kendler et al, 2004a , b ). It is also evident that different types of child maltreatment have long-term adverse consequences for mental health (Cicchetti and Toth, 2005 ; Gonzalez, 2013 ; Allen et al, 2014 ; Bailer et al, 2014 ; Cummings and Berkowitz, 2014 ; Hagan et al, 2014 ; Roth et al, 2014 ). Among the different types of maltreatment, sexual abuse is probably the most relevant with respect to increased risk for psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety (Booth and Gulati, 2014 ; Kanamüller et al, 2014 ; Letourneau et al, 2014 ; Visser et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Childhood Trauma As Vulnerability Factor For Depressive Phenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inflammation and neuronal plasticity: a link between childhood trauma and depression pathogenesis

Cattaneo

Macchi

Plazzotta

et al. 2015

Front. Cell. Neurosci.

122

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During the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in understanding and characterizing the role of inflammation in major depressive disorder (MDD). Indeed, several are the evidences linking alterations in the inflammatory system to Major Depression, including the presence of elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, together with other mediators of inflammation. However, it is still not clear whether inflammation represents a cause or whether other factors related to depression result in these immunological effects. Regardless, exposure to early life stressful events, which represent a vulnerability factor for the development of psychiatric disorders, act through the modulation of inflammatory responses, but also of neuroplastic mechanisms over the entire life span. Indeed, early life stressful events can cause, possibly through epigenetic changes that persist over time, up to adulthood. Such alterations may concur to increase the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies. In this review we will discuss the role of inflammation and neuronal plasticity as relevant processes underlying depression development. Moreover, we will discuss the role of epigenetics in inducing alterations in inflammation-immune systems as well as dysfunction in neuronal plasticity, thus contributing to the long-lasting negative effects of stressful life events early in life and the consequent enhanced risk for depression. Finally we will provide an overview on the potential role of inflammatory system to aid diagnosis, predict treatment response, enhance treatment matching, and prevent the onset or relapse of Major Depression.

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“…Chi-Quadrat-Tests zeigen, dass diejenigen, die misshandlungsbezogene Hilfen in Anspruch genommen haben, sich nicht in ihrem gegenwärtigem psychischen Gesund- 16 (22,9) 15 (21,4) 14 (20,0) 11 (15,7) heitszustand von Opfern ohne Nutzung von Hilfen unterscheiden (▶Tab. 3).…”

Section: Zusammenhang Der Psychopathologie Mit Der Inanspruchnahme Vounclassified

Inanspruchnahme professioneller Hilfen durch sexuell viktimisierte Kinder und Jugendliche

Münzer¹,

Fegert²,

Witt³

et al. 2015

Nervenheilkunde

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ZusammenfassungGegenstand und Ziel: Sexuelle Viktimisierung kann zu massiven Belastungen führen, der die Kinderund Jugendhilfe sowie Angebote therapeutischer Versorgung zu begegnen versuchen. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die aktuelle psychische Gesundheit sexuell viktimisierter Kinder und Jugendlicher sowie ihre Inanspruchnahme von Hilfen. Material und Methode: Von 70 Kindern und Jugendlichen und ihren Bezugspersonen wurden die genaue Misshandlungsanamnese, aktuelle psychische Belastungen sowie die Inanspruchnahme von Hilfen erfasst. Ergebnisse: Die Inanspruchnahme von Hilfen war in der Untersuchungsgruppe unabhängig vom Vorliegen einer gegenwärtigen psychischen Störung. Über 60% der psychisch auffälligen Teilnehmer nahm keine missbrauchsbezogene therapeutische Hilfe in Anspruch. Genutzte Angebote wurden als überwiegend hilfreich bewertet. Schlussfolgerungen: Viele psychisch erkrankte Betroffene bleiben unversorgt. Klinische Relevanz: Es ergibt sich die Herausforderung einer missbrauchsbezogenen Interventionsplanung und traumafokussierten therapeutischen Versorgung.

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The Impact of Sexual Abuse Committed by a Child on Mental Health in Adulthood

Cited by 22 publications

References 20 publications

The Cycle of Abuse: When Victims Become Offenders

The Cycle of Abuse: When Victims Become Offenders

Inflammation and neuronal plasticity: a link between childhood trauma and depression pathogenesis

Inanspruchnahme professioneller Hilfen durch sexuell viktimisierte Kinder und Jugendliche

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