The After Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse
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The After Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse
The After Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse
"How deeply the experience of childhood sexual abuse impacts us depends on a variety of factors:
1. Duration and Frequency of Abuse
"The longer and more frequently the sexual abuse occurs, the more serious the later emotional and sexual consequences".
2. Type of Sexual Activity
"Sexual abuse which involves penetration is the most damaging".
3. Use of Force and Aggression
"The greater the use of physical force or violence, the greater the consequences".
4. Age at Onset
"Some sexual abuse professionals believe the younger the child is when the sexual abuse occurs, the more damaging it is. Others believe that younger children are more emotionally insulated and that the most damage takes place in older abused children".
5. Age, Gender, and Relationship to Abuser
"The closer the relationship of the victim and the abuser and the greater the span of years that separate them, the more harm".
6. Passive Submission or Willing Participation of the Child
"The child who willingly submits to the abuse and who actively participates in it suffers more negative effects.
7. Direct or Indirect Telling With No Support
"When a child tells and isn't helped,the consequences are more severe and long-lasting than when the child keeps the abuse a secret".
8. Parental Reaction
"Children may suffer further trauma be parents who react negatively to the truth by blaming the child or denying or minimizing the abuse".
9. Institutional Response
"Negative or ineffective responses by social service agencies to the child's sexual abuse serve to compound the negative effects of the abuse".
The following is a collection, a summary of the devastating effects of child abuse to which many authors have contributed. Among them Bass and Davis, "The Courage To Heal". This summary of the findings of many researchers, writers and clinicians clearly demonstrates or clearly outlines the extent to which every aspect of the survivor's life has been affected by the abuse. These symptoms, or after effects of sexual abuse are experienced to varying degrees and in varying combinations by each survivor of sexual abuse. Some survivors experience a few of these after effects while many others live with many of these after after effects in a lingering and on-going way.
Emotionally, Sexual Abuse Survivors May Experience:
guilt--shame
fear--anxiety
self-blame--dissatisfaction
powerlessness--helplessness
inability to say no to others in relationships
difficulty nurturing self
lack of trust of own perceptions and feelings
emotional shut down or 'numbing'
inability to see the positive aspects of oneself
perfectionism
'splitting' mind from body
control at all costs
feeling invisible
problems giving or receiving affection
difficulty relying on others
Physical Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse May Include:
physical symptoms with no medical cause
feeling betrayed and repulsed by own body
withdrawing or flinching from touch
sleep disturbances
not being 'present' in own body
denial of bodily needs
high pain tolerance
eating disorders
drug/alcohol addiction
suicidal thoughts/behaviors
self-mutilation
self-imposed isolation
Relationship Problems Might Include:
idealizing, overvaluing, or devaluing others/self
humiliating interactions
fear of committment
difficulty with trusting self/others with intimacy
self-imposed isolation or excessive neediness
toleration of abusive patterns
triangulating others
emotional and physical care-taking of others at own expenseinvolvement in abusive, criticizing relationships
giving or receiving abuse
Sexual Symptoms can include:
inability to differentiate/combine sex, affection, intimacy
sexual orientation confusion
violent or sadomasochistic fantasies/behaviors
unwanted pregnancy/abortion
loss of sexual desire
sexual exploitation through prostitution
genital numbness
sexualizing all relationships
pain during intercourse
sexual guilt about sexual pleasure
belief that one's only worth is sexual
inability to orgasm alone or with a partner
intrusive flashbacks of forced sex
alternating between sexual abstinence and compulsivity
deep hatred of body and its sexual responses
sexually transmitted disease
sexual revictimization
Behavioral Effects of Sexual Abuse May Include:
hyperactive, hypervigilant behaviors
impulsively entering/leaving relationships
compulsive spending, stealing, lying, gambling or working
dangerous risk-taking behaviors
The resource used for this page was the book: "Aching For Love" by Mary Anne Klausner and Bobbie Hasselbring
"How deeply the experience of childhood sexual abuse impacts us depends on a variety of factors:
1. Duration and Frequency of Abuse
"The longer and more frequently the sexual abuse occurs, the more serious the later emotional and sexual consequences".
2. Type of Sexual Activity
"Sexual abuse which involves penetration is the most damaging".
3. Use of Force and Aggression
"The greater the use of physical force or violence, the greater the consequences".
4. Age at Onset
"Some sexual abuse professionals believe the younger the child is when the sexual abuse occurs, the more damaging it is. Others believe that younger children are more emotionally insulated and that the most damage takes place in older abused children".
5. Age, Gender, and Relationship to Abuser
"The closer the relationship of the victim and the abuser and the greater the span of years that separate them, the more harm".
6. Passive Submission or Willing Participation of the Child
"The child who willingly submits to the abuse and who actively participates in it suffers more negative effects.
7. Direct or Indirect Telling With No Support
"When a child tells and isn't helped,the consequences are more severe and long-lasting than when the child keeps the abuse a secret".
8. Parental Reaction
"Children may suffer further trauma be parents who react negatively to the truth by blaming the child or denying or minimizing the abuse".
9. Institutional Response
"Negative or ineffective responses by social service agencies to the child's sexual abuse serve to compound the negative effects of the abuse".
The following is a collection, a summary of the devastating effects of child abuse to which many authors have contributed. Among them Bass and Davis, "The Courage To Heal". This summary of the findings of many researchers, writers and clinicians clearly demonstrates or clearly outlines the extent to which every aspect of the survivor's life has been affected by the abuse. These symptoms, or after effects of sexual abuse are experienced to varying degrees and in varying combinations by each survivor of sexual abuse. Some survivors experience a few of these after effects while many others live with many of these after after effects in a lingering and on-going way.
Emotionally, Sexual Abuse Survivors May Experience:
guilt--shame
fear--anxiety
self-blame--dissatisfaction
powerlessness--helplessness
inability to say no to others in relationships
difficulty nurturing self
lack of trust of own perceptions and feelings
emotional shut down or 'numbing'
inability to see the positive aspects of oneself
perfectionism
'splitting' mind from body
control at all costs
feeling invisible
problems giving or receiving affection
difficulty relying on others
Physical Symptoms of Child Sexual Abuse May Include:
physical symptoms with no medical cause
feeling betrayed and repulsed by own body
withdrawing or flinching from touch
sleep disturbances
not being 'present' in own body
denial of bodily needs
high pain tolerance
eating disorders
drug/alcohol addiction
suicidal thoughts/behaviors
self-mutilation
self-imposed isolation
Relationship Problems Might Include:
idealizing, overvaluing, or devaluing others/self
humiliating interactions
fear of committment
difficulty with trusting self/others with intimacy
self-imposed isolation or excessive neediness
toleration of abusive patterns
triangulating others
emotional and physical care-taking of others at own expenseinvolvement in abusive, criticizing relationships
giving or receiving abuse
Sexual Symptoms can include:
inability to differentiate/combine sex, affection, intimacy
sexual orientation confusion
violent or sadomasochistic fantasies/behaviors
unwanted pregnancy/abortion
loss of sexual desire
sexual exploitation through prostitution
genital numbness
sexualizing all relationships
pain during intercourse
sexual guilt about sexual pleasure
belief that one's only worth is sexual
inability to orgasm alone or with a partner
intrusive flashbacks of forced sex
alternating between sexual abstinence and compulsivity
deep hatred of body and its sexual responses
sexually transmitted disease
sexual revictimization
Behavioral Effects of Sexual Abuse May Include:
hyperactive, hypervigilant behaviors
impulsively entering/leaving relationships
compulsive spending, stealing, lying, gambling or working
dangerous risk-taking behaviors
The resource used for this page was the book: "Aching For Love" by Mary Anne Klausner and Bobbie Hasselbring
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