Immediate and Long-Term Impacts of Child Sexual Abuse

TLDR

Research over the past decade shows that individuals who have experienced childhood sexual abuse exhibit a broader range of psychological and interpersonal problems, and although causality cannot be definitively proven, consistent findings identify it as a major risk factor for these difficulties. The article reviews the current knowledge of the potential impacts of child sexual abuse. The review categorizes abuse‑related problems into posttraumatic stress, cognitive distortions, emotional pain, avoidance, impaired self‑concept, and interpersonal difficulties.

Abstract

Research conducted over the past decade indicates that a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are more prevalent among those who have been sexually abused than among individuals with no such experiences. Although a definitive causal relationship between such difficulties and sexual abuse cannot be established using current retrospective research methodologies, the aggregate of consistent findings in this literature has led many to conclude that childhood sexual abuse is a major risk factor for a variety of problems. This article summarizes what is currently known about these potential impacts of child sexual abuse. The various problems and symptoms described in the literature on child sexual abuse are reviewed in a series of broad categories including posttraumatic stress, cognitive distortions, emotional pain, avoidance, an impaired sense of self, and interpersonal difficulties. Research has demonstrated that the extent to which a given individual manifests abuse-related distress is a function of an undetermined number of abuse-specific variables, as well as individual and environmental factors that existed prior to, or occurred subsequent to, the incidents of sexual abuse.