A Review of Coping Skills for Early Sexual Abuse Victims

Studies have shown a clear correlation between childhood sexual assault (CSA) and negative sexual experiences later in life. Of relevance to the criminal justice system, these later forms of sexual victimization include sexual assault and sex work. The relationship between CSA and adverse sexual development is a correlation between two things, not a direct pathway from cause to effect. While survivors of sexual assault are at a higher risk of experiencing these later forms of victimization, this correlation represents a highly complex process involving a wide range of mediating factors and the intersections between them. Any experience of sexual assault is highly traumatic. Survivors of CSA, however, represent a unique population, because their trauma occurs near the start of the human developmental process and therefore alters all development thereafter.

Any victim of sexual abuse faces the chance of having their development impacted. This is especially true amongst children. Studies have proven that children who have been sexually abused by a female offender often have different developmental experiences (T.A. Gannon, 2008, p. 356). Mental illness is yet another impact that victims face. Many sexual abuse victims transpire into states of depression, rage, and suicide; they even have strained relationships with certain individuals (Denov, 2014, p.

The effects of childhood sexual abuse carry on with the children forever. To what extent and to what effect does abuse have on children during adulthood? What are the main issues that adults have been abused suffer from in adulthood? Do they have more of a physical issue with preforming with their partner in the bedroom or do they have more of a mental block due to their trauma? The world had been asking these questions for far too long and we need answers on how helping the children of our world. The questions that have been stated have been answered through the two articles that will be summarized below.

It has been observed that sexually abused children tend to be less socially competent, more aggressive, and more socially withdrawn than non-abused children. A specific interpersonal effect of sexual abuse among children is that of increased sexual behavior. This is prominent when we were

Victims of sexual assault suffer from a wide variety of mental and emotional issues throughout their lives as a result of the experience. Results can range from depression, anger, feelings of loneliness, and difficulty when trying to formulate relationships of trust (Hyde 45). Victims experience a wide variety of psychological issues as a result of sexual crimes, which they will have to carry with them throughout their entire lives. Also, “Psychological problems can start later in life with changes in behavior- vague fears, feeling unprotected and helpless, nightmares, bedwetting, sleeping problems, fear to loss parents approval/love, need to please others, poor self esteem, anger, depression, withdrawal from activities, daydreaming, difficulty concentrating, behavior problems” (Hyde 47).

Child sexual abuse involves a wide range of sexual activity. It may include fondling of the

Being sexually abused is a very traumatizing experience, and this form of victimization at a young age only amplifies the situation. The mortifying nature of child sexual abuse often brings along with it changes in the victim's life. Some of the numerous short term effects (problems that impact them while they are still at a young

This paper will examine the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on women’s sexual behavior in adulthood. Childhood sexual abuse has been associated with a plethora of physical and emotional symptoms in women. It has been noted that there is a significant relationship between this maltreatment and the development of abnormal sexual behavior. Some women who have been abused as children are suffering from lack of sexual desire, emotional distress, sexual dysfunction, or engage in risky sexual behavior as they become adults. This paper has two purposes: (1) to provide a broad overview of the research on long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse on mental and physical health and (2) encourage counselors and therapists alike to seek knowledge of this issue and in turn provide victims of CSA with effective methods to overcome and deal with any long-term issues of childhood sexual abuse.

An article written about the effects of sexual abuse in accordance with male victims, claims: “[t]hree perspectives of early family relationships and attachment theory, developmental psychopathology, and trauma theory provide a conceptual understanding as to why some victims are vulnerable to the effects of sexual abuse while others appear resilient to it.” Although the study's main objective is to understand the developmental effects of male CSA survivors, it also notes that the majority of the data collected about the psychological well being of the sample is also representative of female CSA survivors. In a similar study on the repercussions of sexual abuse in male victims, Scott Eastman depicts a table simply explaining the process of coping, or the problems tied to CSA. Much like a story line, there is a beginning a middle and an end after the initial incident, but not all survivors reach the stages of completion and often times face difficulties coping. In the middle stage of the process, is distraction, obsessive review. These are symptoms tied to PTSD, defined as a disorder which a traumatic event causes flashbacks, nightmares, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. It may reasonably be concluded that the obsessive thoughts are tied to PTSD because reviewing the traumatic experience may give the illusion of understanding to the survivor. In the final Stage of the process, following acceptance, is

This paper reviews several articles that discuss the lasting effects that sexual abuse can have on a child into their adult years. The articles agree that victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) will most likely suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or experience revictimization. This paper will also address the common forms of coping that victims of child sexual abuse take part in. Some research will touch on proper healing techniques for victims of CSA to receive.

Over 92% of sexual assault survivors disclose the assault to at least one person, and the types of responses they receive vary. The negative social reactions can cause maladaptive coping strategies for the survivor, and result in PSTD symptoms. A common negative response to an assault disclosure include blaming the victim, treating the victim as if they are broken or they have changed, as well as attempting to control the victim’s situation or even completely disregarding the victim’s emotions and focusing on their own feelings. Often times, when a person is assaulted it is by someone they know (unlike the common stereotype where a person jumps out of the bushes and attacks the weak victim), and the victim feels as if they cannot trust people again, making negative responses to disclosure almost like a stab in the back because the survivor has ran out of people to trust. When a person gives negative feedback to an assault disclosure, it prolongs the victims recovery time. A victim can feel as if they are not in control of their recovery and makes them question their actions and feelings. Also, in addition to the “loss of control”, they could disengage from seeking support and aid from others, falling into maladaptive coping strategies to avoid the feelings of anger, sadness, and anxiety. Often times, survivors can seek out alcohol or drugs to aid them in their recovery process, although they do not know they are causing more harm to themselves. However, negative reactions may not necessarily impair individual forms of adaptive coping, especially for survivors who do not rely on others for support during recovery. Some survivors can use the negative responses to encourage themselves to not rely on others for support and focus on individual strategies for coping (i.e. meditation, cognitive

Wilson writes that survivors of sexual abuse state that they have several problems including reduced communication, less trust, and little satisfaction in their relationships (Wilson 60). She states that histories of the abuse impact the survivors’ relationships in a negative manner (Wilson 60).

Existing controlled examinations of intervention efficacy specific to only sexual assault and rape are presently minimal in comparison to intervention examinations of combination or other types of trauma (Regehr, Alaggia, Dennis, Pitts, & Saini, 2013). Psychotherapeutic interventions that fail to differentiate sexual assault and rape victims from other types of trauma victims may decrease the treatment effectiveness or inadvertently harm participants in this subgroup. Trauma associated from rape or sexual assault differs from other forms of trauma and treatment efficacy should be examined in this manner. Trauma from rape or sexual assault entail symptoms of PTSD, depression, suicidal ideations and sexual dysfunction. Individuals may also indicate feelings of vulnerability, loss of control, fear, shame, self-blame, societal blame and stigma (Russell & Davis, 2007; Regehr et al., 2013; Ullman &Peter-Hagene, 2014). This research proposal intends to explore the long term effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) at reducing distress and trauma explicitly for adult victims of sexual assault and rape.

To investigate the research question, a bivariate correlation will be conducted to assess the strength of the relationship between social support and problem focused coping in child sexual abuse victims. Given that both variables are continuous and the hypothesis seeks to assess the relationship, a bivariate correlation is the appropriate data analysis test. Correlation coefficients range from -1, a perfect negative linear relationship to 1, a perfect linear relationship, with 0 representing no relationship. Positive coefficients indicate a direct relationship, indicating that as one variable increases, the other variable also increases. Negative correlation coefficients indicate an indirect relationship, indicating that as one variable increases,

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry). Childhood sexual abuse is a traumatic experience affecting the lives of not only the victim, but those close to the victim as well. Many think there is only one person truly traumatized, but in fact, everyone involved is affected. The victim has to deal with their experience the rest of their lives. They may be more at risk for other mental issues as well, including depression. The family involved has to deal with its pain, often causing hardship and discord within the family. This is especially true