Short And Long Term Behaviors Of Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse

Short and long term behaviors of victims of child sexual abuse

Introduction

Next we will present the short and long term behaviors of the victims of child sexual abuse, the possible psychological effects and we will define the terms associated with this.

There is no unique definition of what constitutes child sexual abuse. A comprehensive definition is the one used by the federal state in the United States, established by the minutes for the prevention and treatment of child abuse. In it, child sexual abuse is considered:

• The use, persuasion, induction, seduction or coercion of a child to perform or participate in any type of explicit sexual behavior, or the simulation of such behavior in order to produce a visual representation of this, or
• Violation, touching, prostitution or any form of sexual expression of a child, or incest.

Developing

Suzanne Sgroi (1982), on the other hand, states that sexual abuse are all acts of sexaction in which it is involved. The ability to tangle a child in these activities is based on the dominant and power of the adult in contrast to the vulnerability and dependence of the child.

The following definition, by Berliner and Elliott (2002), presents some interesting elements that are worth considering: sexual abuse includes any activity with a child in which there is no consent or this cannot be granted. This includes the sexual contact that is achieved by force or by threat of use of force – regardless of the age of the participants – and all sexual contacts between an adult and a child – independently of whether the child has beendeceived or if you understand the sexual nature of sexual activity between a larger child and a smaller one can also be abusive if there is significant disparity of age, development or body size, making the younger child unable to give an informed consent .

It is estimated that the total cases of child abuse reported annually, about 26% are exclusively of sexual abuse. It is estimated that 1 in 12 children have experienced some type of sexual abuse or that every year 1% of children will be victims of sexual abuse. In general, it has been observed that approximately 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men have been victims of some form of sexual abuse during their childhood.

Types of aggression and abuse

Aggression: any form of exposure of the child to sexual stimuli or its use as sexual stimulus, mediating violence or intimidation.

Abuse: any form of exposure of the child to sexual stimuli or the use of it as a sexual stimulus, without mediating violence or intimidation. This definition covers from the exposure of the minor to pornographic material or explicit verbal propositions to carnal access, which may include anal, oral, digital or caresses.

According to the current Criminal Code of Spain, the differentiating criterion between abuse and sexual aggression is the use of violence in aggressions and the use of seduction, insistence and deception in abuse. Following this criterion, the investigations indicate that the general incidence of the cases of thus is similar in the family and the extra family, although it seems that in the first more abuses occur and in the second more aggressions. In any case, the investigations indicate a greater incidence of the cases of LIOS by relatives and known people, on the cases of sexual aggressions by strangers.

The psychological indicators of child sexual abuse or initial consequences are those effects that are usually located in the two years of abuse, therefore, they are usually present in childhood and adolescence. While many of the initial effects of child sexual abuse can last throughout the evolutionary cycle, some of them are minimized or disappeared, especially when they reach adulthood, and can even develop exclusively in certain evolutionary periods. As obtained from the studies presented later, child sexual abuse is related to symptomatology that affects different areas of the victim’s life. For Mannarino and Cohen (1986), 69% of the lower victims of sexual abuse have psychopathological symptoms;While for Mcleer, Dixon, Henry, Ruggiero, Escovitz, Niedda, et al. (1998) This percentage is 62.8%.

Emotional problems

Within this section are some of the internalizing problems, following the categorization of Achenbach (1991), more frequent observed in victims of child sexual abuse, stands out for its high frequency in these minors the symptomatology, with a prevalence located nearhalf of the. Anxiety and depression symptoms are also observed (between 4 and 44% in men and between 9 and 41% in women victims of child sexual abuse, 1998);as well as low self – esteem, feeling of guilt and stigmatization (between 4% and 41%). Ideation and / or suicidal behavior occurs in a high name of cases (between 26.5 and 54% of women’s victims, and between 43.3 and 52.7% of men) (a 37, 4% of women and 50% of men), (29% of women and 50% of men).

• Fears, phobias, depressive symptoms, anxiety, low self – esteem, feeling of guilt, stigmatization, post -traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation and behavior, self-injuries.
• Cognitive and academic performance problems:

Among which highlights the affectation of the capacity of attention and concentration, with a frequency of hyperactive symptomatology of between 4% and 40% of the victims.

• Hyperactive behaviors, attention and concentration problems, low academic performance, worse general cognitive functioning, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity.

Relationship problems

One of the areas that is usually most affected in victims of child sexual abuse is the social relationship with equals and adults, whether belonging to the family or unknown, given the rupture that the experience of sexual abuse implies in the victim’s confidence.

• Social relationship problems, less friends, less playing time with equals, high social isolation.

Functional problems

Within this group are those consequences of child sexual abuse that represent difficulties in the physical functions of the victim. Sleep problems stand out (in 56%of cases, the loss of sphincter control (18%), and food problems (49%).

• Sleep problems (nightmares), loss of sphincter control (enuresis and foundis), eating disorders, somatic complaints.
• Behavior problems:

Within this section, the problems most related to the victim’s behavior have been included, highlighting the;

• Sexualized behaviors, compulsive conformity and disruptive and aggressive behavior
• Sexualized behavior

Compulsive compliance

They criticize and dillal (1988) proposed the existence of a specific behavior pattern, called mandatory conformity, used by some victims of ill -treatment, sexual abuse and negligence to accommodate their situation and be able to survive, physically and psychologically. The authors define this strategy as the presence of conformist and vigilant behavior in children victims of ill -treatment, which reduce the risk of hostile and violent behaviors by their aggressors and increases the probability of pleasant interactions with them. In the study, victims of sexual abuse were those who presented a higher level of compulsive conformity. However, although the initial authors advocate the adaptive effect of this strategy,

Disruptive and dissocial behavior

At the opposite end, some authors have obtained a high frequency of disruptive and dissocial behaviors in victims of child sexual abuse, including within the so -called externalizing symptomatology according to the categorization of Achenbach (1991), especially in male victims. The authors differ in the frequencies obtained for this type of behavior in victims of sexual abuse, oscillating between the 2% indicated in the study of Mannarino and Cohen (1986) for both sexes;and 25.3% for women and 58.4% for men in Garnefski and Diekstra (1997). Some victims grow in the conviction that the use of aggressiveness is the best way to get what they want. As noted in various works,

The different long -term problems that the bibliography has found more frequently in victims of child sexual abuse, in order to facilitate the understanding of the results of the studies, have been grouped into the following sections that.

Emotional problems

Within this section, for their presence in much of the victims of child sexual abuse, depressive and bipolar disorders; The symptoms and anxiety disorders, highlighting for its high frequency the post -traumatic stress disorder; the limit personality disorder; as well as self-destructive behaviors (negligence in obligations, risk behaviors, absence of self-protection, among others); self-harm behaviors; suicidal ideas and suicide attempts; and low self – esteem.

• Depressive and bipolar disorder, symptoms and disorders of, anxiety, stress disorder, posttraumatic, low self – esteem, alexithmy, limit disorder of the, personality, behaviors, self-destructive, suicidal ideation and behavior, self-collons, self-collons.

Relationship problems

The area of interpersonal relationships is one of those that is usually most affected, as much as in the long term, in victims of child sexual abuse. It highlights the presence of greater isolation and social anxiety, less friends and social interactions, as well as low levels of participation in community activities. There is also a mismatch in relationships, with unstable relationships and a negative evaluation of them, among others. Difficulties also appear in the raising of children, with more permissive parental styles in victims of sexual abuse when compared to control groups, as well as a more frequent use of physical punishment in the face of conflicts with children and a general depreciation of maternal role.

• Isolation and social anxiety, difficulties in the relationship, difficulties in raising children. .

Behavioral problems and social adaptation

Higher levels of hostility are observed in victims of child sexual abuse than in control groups, as well as a greater presence of antisocial behaviors and behavior disorders Kaufman and Widom (1999), meanwhile, found, through a longitudinal study (1989-1995 ), The greatest risk of home flight presented by victims of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, compared to a control group. In turn, home flight behavior, as well as having suffered child sexual abuse.

• Hostility, behavior disorders.

Functional problems

One of the problems that affects the physical functions of these victims are more frequent are physical pain without medical reason that justifies them. Some headaches, fibromialgia and gastrointestinal disorders are also observed, which implies an important expense for health systems, especially if they are not diagnosed or treated properly.

There are several studies that demonstrate the frequent presence of eating disorders in victims of child sexual abuse, especially bulimia

Conversion disorders are also detected, which include the affectation of any of the victim’s motor or sensory functions;The so -called non -epileptic convulsive crises, which briefly change the behavior of a person and seem epileptic crises, although they are not caused by abnormal electrical changes in the brain but by the experience of strongly stressful events;and the somatization disorder, defined as the presence of somatic symptoms that require medical treatment and cannot be fully explained by the presence of a known disease, or by the direct effects of a substance . In turn, the frequent presence of symptoms and dissociative disorders in victims of child sexual abuse, referring to those situations in which there is an alteration of the integrative functions of consciousness, identity, memory and perception of the perception of the perception of theenvironment.

On the other hand, studies on gynecological disorders stand out, particularly chronic pelvic pain, as well as a significantly early start of menopause in women victims of sexual abuse. Disorders related to substance abuse also appear frequently in studies on consequences of child sexual abuse. Other works have shown the relationship between the experience of child sexual abuse and a worst state of general physical health, both through real physical symptoms and according to the perception of subjective health of the victims.

• Eating disorders, physical pain, conversion disorder, non -epileptic convulsive crises, dissociative disorder, somatization disorder, gynecological disorders, substance abuse.

Sexual problems

Browning and Lauman (2001) defend that disappointed sexuality is the most widespread consequence of child sexual abuse, however, they highlight the non-existence of a causal relationship between the experience of child sexual abuse and the development of this problem, althoughChild sexual abuse would act as an important risk factor to take into account. Other studies have also confirmed the frequency of sexual problems in victims of child sexual abuse, such as unsatisfactory and dysfunctional sexuality, sexual risk behaviors (such as the maintenance of unprotected sex, a greater number of couples and a greater presence ofsexually transmitted and risky diseases). Derived from these sexual problems and,

• Unsatisfactory and dysfunctional sexuality, sexual risk behaviors, early maternity, prostitution, victimization.

Conclusion

The presence of sexualized behaviors, called eroticized behaviors, is one of the most frequent problems in victims of child sexual abuse, being usually taken as an indicator of marked reliability also for detection. As an example, in the review of Bromberg and Jonson (2001) the authors indicate that sexualized behavior is 15 times more likely in minor victims of sexual abuse than in non -victims. However, these behaviors are not exclusive to the different victims of sexual abuse and can occur for other reasons to the experience of abuse such as the experience of other violent experiences family attitudes regarding sex, among others. Several authors have studied those sexual behaviors that can consider regulations according to age and gender and have compared them with those presented by the majority of victims of child sexual abuse, illustrating the high frequency of sexualized and non -regulatory knowledge and behaviors in these victims,Even at very early ages. On the other hand, some authors have confirmed that sexualized behaviors in childhood seem. Prostitution in victims of child sexual abuse of minors is also one of the problems related to the area of sexuality found by some authors, especially in certain Asian and Latin American countries. In general, as Barudy (1993) states, the rapid and premature growth with which victims of child sexual abuse develop at the level of their sexuality, contrasting with the difficulties they present to grow in the psycho -affective and relational plane.

Bibliography

• Browne and Finkelhor, 1., & López. (1993).
• Kendall-Tackett. (1993).
• Martin Alonso, C. J. (2006). Valuation of testimony in child sexual abuse. Forensic Medicine Notebooks.
• Navas, m. J. (2014). Sexual abuse in minors, generality, consequences and prevention. Legal Medicine of Costa Rica.
• Oates, or. L. (1994).
• Swanston, t. EITHER., & Tebutt, S. EITHER. (1997).
• UNICEF, s. B. (2015). Child sexual abuse. UNICEF Uruguay: Communication Workshop.