CSA As A Traumatic Experience

CSA can leave survivors with both short and long term effects. This view is supported by Ferguson (1997), ‘as well as the immediate effects of such abuse seen in childhood, findings from research have reported how the impact of CSA can affect the lives of adult survivors.’

In the past ten years researchers have increase their knowledge on the understanding of the different effects that maltreatment has on early brain development. A foundation has been set for the neurobiological explanations of children who have experienced sexual abuse in their early years of life. The explanations include areas of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional struggles. There are many different internal and external factors that associate with the way the child develops into adulthood. Variables that can be taken into account are individual factors and environmental factors. For example individual factors consist of children’s temperaments and vulnerability. In regards to environmental factors this contains how caregivers portray abuse along with overall family atmosphere. Some other specific variables associated with abuse are duration, amount of violence, and relationship between victim and abuser. In addition, age has a strong impact on the victim in regards to adult sexual behavior. When a child is abused at a young age he or she is more likely to engage in sexualized external behavior. At the age of six or younger, children have a higher chance to show their abuse through inappropriate and aggressive sexualized behavior. As for older children of twelve and up they lean more towards fear of sex. These children shoe more internal behavior problems as well (Aaron, 2012).

Childhood and adolescence is a crucial time for humans- a time full of physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Upon observing the significant impact that trauma induced stress can have on adults following time in combat or an injury, when adults have fully matured in all areas, it raises the question of what influence post-traumatic stressors can have on development in children. This issue was so significant that in the DSM-5, the psychologists introduced a new, and separate, section of criteria for PTSD that specifically relates to the preschool subtype, or those individuals six years and younger. The first age specific sub-type for this disorder is important due to the rising number of studies and cases of PTSD in children.

. (Stewart, ) contends that feelings of vulnerability, unworthiness and powerless difficulty in distinguishing sexual from affectionate behaviours, mistrust, shame, guilt, stigma and mental health problems are psychological effects of CSA. A study conducted by (Wilson, 2010) indicates that adult survivors of CSA show a series of psychological and physical problems throughout their lives. (Hornor, 2010) argues that the majority of children who are sexually abused will be moderately to severely symptomatic at some point in their life. There is evidence to suggest that (Stevenson, 1999) children who are exposed to sexual abuse are at risk negative consequences as a result of the abuse itself, not solely as a consequence of other associated background

It is shocking for me to see the statistics about trauma for young children. According to the article, Understanding Early Childhood Mental Health, it states that an estimated 44, 512 children younger than 3 years were exposed to trauma sometime during 2009 and this represents 33.4% of all children who were exposed to trauma during that year. This numbers are higher than I expected. This case of trauma to children will have a huge impact to children’s learning as they will have some symptoms of trauma, such as sleep problems, eating problems, stress, regression and aggressive outburn as the PowerPoint mentions. Their education will be affected as they do not have that energy to go to school and be consistent in their studies.

When children experience a traumatic event, not only does it affect their emotions but it can affect many areas of development if not all of them. Equally, health and learning difficulties can also have a less desirable effect on holistic development. By looking at how such factors can affect child development, we can work towards finding a suitable learning method and helping children overcome and recover from their experiences.

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

The purpose of this paper is to conduct library research on early childhood trauma and its effects on brain development. This paper will discuss the consequences of early childhood trauma, specifically the manner in which it impacts brain development. Included will be a discussion of What tends to happen to people who experience early childhood trauma. Within the paper will be a description of the consequences of this type of trauma for the urban individual, family, community, or culture. This paper will then identify two of the most effective, evidenced based practice treatment models utilized for survivors of this form of trauma.

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.

In the immediate, as well as long-term aftermath of exposure to trauma, children are at risk of developing significant emotional and behavior difficulties (CWIG, 2012). The most damaging types of trauma include early physical and sexual abuse, neglect, emotional/psychological abuse, exposure to domestic violence and other forms of child maltreatment (Hoch, 2009). Research has shown that children that are exposed to these types of trauma will experience developmental delays including language and verbal processing. Also, they will have risk of poor physiological and psychosocial functioning, and will be vulnerable to emotional and behavioral dysregulation disorders, thus, leading to an increase risk of poor outcomes including substance abuse, suicidality, teen pregnancy and paternity, criminal activity, and revictimization (Hoch, 2009).

The exposure of children to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and other forms of maltreatment is

Sexual abuse can be hard to define because of the many different forms it can take on, the different levels of frequency, the variation of circumstances that can occur. Until a child is fit to function as a self-supporting and informed adult, we have an obligation not to take advantage of their lack of power or protection to inflict damage, or demand submission to acts that are not in their own best interests within. Children are being abused every day in different countries. While commonly accepted wisdom had been that childhood sexual abuse results in long lasting negative outcomes.

Traumatized children show outcomes of negative physical and mental health once entering adulthood. DeJong talks about the different types of stress. In this section of the article, the author describes the difference between positive stress, tolerable stress, and toxic stress. DeJong describes tolerable stress as having supportive relationships, whereas he describes toxic stress as having a lack of supportive relationships. The author states that experiencing toxic stress in early in childhood could lead to child traumatic stress. According to DeJong, “Child traumatic stress is the physical and emotional responses of a child to events that threaten the life or physical integrity of the child or of someone critically important to the child” (205). Traumatic stress occurs in response to a single traumatic event or reoccurring traumatic events. The author states traumatic stress could lead to toxic stress if it makes changes to the way the body reacts to it. As the article continues, the author begins to describe the effects of toxic stress in multiple body systems. DeJong describes the effects of toxic stress on the social/ behavioral system, the brain and neuroendocrine system, and the molecular and genetic levels. The tone of these sections of the article is very informal. The author did a great job of providing an explanation of the consequences of domestic violence exposure to children, as well as

Annotated Bibliography: In this article, the author is making an argument that sexual abuse causes brain development problems in the long run. These children gain “a less flexible state of equilibrium” (Gaskill 37). They then become poor socialized and have problems in regards to emotional and physical health. In order to these children, they need to be helped immediately,

The historical overview of child’s childhood had always being depicted as nonexistent. Abuse and neglect were part of their everyday day lives. Children were supposed to be as efficient as an adult but yet were limited to the wants and needs of their parents, as they were view as belonging to them. I was not until recently that the maltreatment towards children was broken down into four categories which are physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect. On this paper I will be focusing sexual abuse; the long term impact of sexual abuse in the child’s cognitive abilities as well behavior and the overall emotional state and how resiliency plays a roll on the child’s overall adjustment.