Early and Long-Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse: An Update

Abstract

Abstract

New research on the impact of child sexual abuse generally confirms the conclusions of an earlier review article by Browne and Finkelhor and extends findings into a few new areas. For example, more studies are now available concerning the impact of abuse on boys, but they have not found consistent gender differences. Some longitudinal studies have also been completed; they show a decline in symptomatology in the months following disclosure. Two areas of controversy are also prominent. One concerns how to explain the relatively substantial percentages of sexually abused children in most studies who have no symptoms on current diagnostic measures. The second concerns whether posttraumatic stress disorder is a useful conceptual framework for understanding the findings on the impact of sexual abuse.

Department

Sociology

Publication Date

10-1990

Journal Title

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

Publisher

American Psychological Association

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1037/0735-7028.21.5.325

Document Type

Article

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