Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Adults

Research indicates that childhood sexual abuse creates, more often than not, many long-term psychological difficulties that have the potential to impair social behavior and functioning (Abdulrehman and De Luca, p. 193). Such problems manifest differently in adults and may vary in tandem with the gender of the abuse victim, his or her age at the time of abuse, the type of abuse, and adult life circumstances. Among the myriad problems experienced by adults who have been victims of sexual abuse during their formative years are anxiety, fear, depression, self-hatred, alienation, and suicidal tendencies (Abdulrehman and De Luca, p. 194). This research report will explore the literature and investigate these effects.

Childhood sexual abuse is a problem that cuts across all racial/ethnic, social, and economic barriers to impact upon far too many vulnerable children (Coleman, pp. 523-524). More often than not, the victims of childhood sexual abuse tend to be female children who are physically assaulted by adult or adolescent males known to them or, in fact, members of their own intimate familial or social circles (Duncan and Williams, p. 765).

At the same time, young boys are sexually abused, more often by adult males, but occasionally by adult females. Duncan and Williams (p. 765) claim that the prevalence of sexual abuse among males may be as high as 16 percent nationally, whereas approximately 25 percent of all adult women ma

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epression as an adult. A relationship was also found between sexual abuse in childhood and adult sexual problems, housing problems, and problems with respect to children and parenting. The researchers concluded that the recall and discussion of abusive experiences is directly associated with depression and other psychosocial problems. Major depressive disorder has been identified by Wise, Zierler, Krieger, and Harlow (p. 881) as a significant cause of morbidity among American women, who are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with this disorder. Sex-based violence and victimization were hypothesized as associated with the prevalence of depression among adult women. Using a case-control study and a randomly selected sample of 732 adult women in the Boston area, Wise, et al (p. 890) undertook an exploration of violent victimization as a risk factor for depression in women. Of the 732 respondents, 363 or 50 percent of the sample reported experience or fear of abuse as a child or adolescent. Compared with women who reported no abuse, the risk of depression was increased in women who reported any abuse as a child or adolescent, sexual abuse only, and both physical and sexual abuse. The severity of abuse was found to have a l
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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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