Approximately 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today (Bull,2001). This figure continues to grow daily as perpetrators of this crime continue in this destructive path. To get a better understanding of what sexual trauma can do to a child the website all about counseling asked us to imagine “ a 6 year old being abused by a family member, say Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe has been very nice to the child up until the other day. He then steps across sexual boundaries, or even becomes physically hurtful to the child. The child may have a hard time holding onto that experience and still function as a young child, playing and enjoying life (www.allaboutcounseling.com). According to the website (www.allaboutcounseling.com) “Children often protect themselves by blocking/repressing or dissociating these kinds of memories. Because of this experience, a child may develop depression or other kinds of symptoms like isolating themselves, or acting out with anger. These symptoms can continue into adulthood. Unless the memory is confronted, the person may continue to act out, not knowing the cause for their It has been stated “that having a traumatic dissociation or childhood sexual amnesia is very common and real. The human mind responds in various ways to trauma. People who have studied trauma and traumatic events have known for a long time that there are several kinds of amnesia that affects us. When something is overwhelming emotionally, some people block it out, separating the event from the rest of their memories”(www.allaboutcounseling.com). For example, people that were in a car accident forget parts of what happened. The psychological conclusion says that the stress of the moment was so traumatic that the person c... ... middle of paper ... ...ma. Virginian Pilot, vol.1 Ode.K. (2010) . Sexual Trauma: Women Vet’s Secret War. Star Tribune, 11 Rayeesa.A. (2011). Gulf News: Trauma of sexual assailt could scar young victims for life.General Interet Periodicals—United Arab Emirates.vol1.120-132 Salter. A. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Transforming trauma: a guide to understanding and treating adult survivors .192-246. Thousand Oaks. London. New Delhi Sebold.A. (1989). HERS; Speaking of the Unspeakable Retrieved March 12, 2011 from : http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DA113DF935A15751C0A96F948260#h[] Wonderlich, S., Crosby. R., Mitchell. J., & Thompson. K., (2001). Sexual trauma and personality: Developmental vulnerability and addictive effects. Journal of Personality Disorders,Vol 6, 496-504 Retrieved from www.allaboutcounseling.com getting all the help you need
McNally, R. J., Clancy, S. A., Schacter, D. L., & Pitman, R. K. (2000). Cognitive processing of trauma cues in adults reporting repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 109(3), 355-359. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.109.3.355
Easton, S. D., Coohey, C., O'leary, P., Zhang, Y., & Hua, L. (2010). The Effect of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Psychosexual Functioning During Adulthook. J Fam Viol , 41-50.
Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G., Lewis, I., & Smith, C. (1990). Sexual abuse in a national survey of
It is believed by some that trauma can lead to amnesia, blocking memories that ar...
The diagnosis of Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves clusters of symptoms. They include persistent re-experiencing of the trauma, avoidance of traumatic reminders/ general numbing of emotional responsiveness, and hyper-arousal (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In order for the possible diagnosis of PTSD the individual needs to have exposed to a
Recovered memories of childhood trauma and abuse has become one of the most controversial issues within the field of psychology. Controversy surrounding repressed memory - sometimes referred to as the memory wars – reached its’ peak in the early 1990s, where there was a rise in the number of people reporting memories of childhood trauma and abuse that had allegedly been repressed for many years (Lindsay & Read, 2001). There are a number of different factors that have contributed to the dispute surrounding recovered memories. Firstly, there is an ongoing debate about whether these types of memories actually exist or whether these accusations arose as a result of suggestive therapeutic procedures. In particular, this debate focuses on two main
Many researchers link behavioral problems in adulthood to childhood abuse. One researcher says that "An adult who was sexually abused as a child has a greater chance of becoming violent, suicidal, and abusive to their children than an adult who was not abused sexually as a child" (Kliest 155). These characteristics could hinder a victim from living a normal lifestyle and having a family. Kliest also states, "Adults who were abused sexually as children will have a greater chance than those who were not of experiencing sexual dysfunction, such as flashbacks, difficulty in arousal, and phobic reactions to sexual intimacy" (156). Many researchers agree that childhood sexual abuse has a negative effect on an adult's personal relationships. Another researcher states, "A history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) appears to have an adverse impact on the quality of adult intimate relationships, and they report avoiding the development of close adult relationships because of their fear of rejection" (Whiffen 1103).
Childhood sexual abuse has been and continues to be a major issue in American society. Victims of such trauma can illustrate both short-term and long-term side effects, stemming from the damage endured during childhood. In severe cases, unresolved trauma of sexual abuse can have dire consequences. One of the most infamous and publicized case (cases) that illustrated these dire consequences was the Menendez murders of 1989.
Recently there has been an extreme debate between "false" vs. "repressed" memories of abuse. A false memory is created when an event that really happened becomes confused with images produced by trying to remember an imagined event. The term false memory syndrome refers to the notion that illusionary and untrue memories of earlier child abuse can be 'recalled' by adult clients during therapy. In an increasingly polarized and emotive debate, extreme positions have been adopted, on one side by those believing that recovered memories nearly always represent actual traumatic experiences, for example, Fredrickson (1992) who argues for a 'repressed memory syndrome' and, on the other side, by those describing a growing epidemic of false memories of abuse which did not occur. (Gardner, 1992; Loftus, 1993; Ofshe & Watters, 1993; Yapko, 1994).
Sexual abuse cannot be clearly defined with ease. In fact, sexual abuse is an umbrella term for any sort of situation, whether or not it involves physical contact, in which a sexually immature child is exposed to anything sexual in nature. Because no child is psychologically mature enough for sexual stimulation, the complex feelings associated with it are mentally and emotionally disfiguring. Children who have been sexually abused experience an array of negative emotions such as shame, guilt and anger, and may display oddly withdrawn or distrustful behaviors. They cannot help but feel that they somehow brought the abuse unto themselves (Saisan, et al). One major contributing factor to these severe psychological consequences is the concept of trust. Sexual abuse is, in most cases, committed by a parent or other trusted adult figure. While children are naïve on such adult topics, they can still get an overwhelming feeling that the attention is wrong, yet they are unsure of how to cope with it. If the child has an emotional atta...
There are a lot of side effects which could be associated with repressed memory resurface and these could range from the individuals who have experienced it, to the families, communities and the general public. The victims are likely to be bound with the so called recovered memories and never to experience peace in their life.
Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children (childhelp.org). There is no doubt that abuse in a child's premature life will go on to affect the child negatively. A sizable number of people who enter therapy as adults were abused as children and have always remembered their abuse. Even when they have severe emotional problems, they can provide detailed descriptions of their abuse (Loftus). Unlike some abuse cases where documentation of the abuse is provided, in repressed memory cases this rarely happens. Because the repressed memory is recalled perhaps 20-30 years after the incident, no documentation can be acquired. However, just because there is no physical evidence of the abuse, that does not automatically make the repressed memory classified as false. Children often repress memories that cause harm, fear, pain, shock, or sadness. A child does not want to deal with a traumatic and confusing experience; so in defense, they block out those feelings. When they block out those feelings, they often times end up suppressing the whole entire
The issue of trauma in sexual addicts has been the subject of many studies and research and those who have it prepared draw into conclusions and seeing the sexual addiction as a “…sickness involving any type of uncontrollable sexual activity.” (Laaser, 2004, p. 23) One of the things that caught my attention in your post is what you wrote about that: “Childhood trauma is one of the leading causes of sex addiction for most addicts.”
While many adolescence have disabilities that effect their way of life, the least spoken about disability is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder especially when pertaining to child sexual abuse. The article “Trauma Characteristics and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Adolescent Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse” reveals the contexts of PTSD along with a randomized controlled case study of 83 female adolescents who undergone such abuse. This study was conducted by doctoral-level clinicians using various measures including but not limited to: Child PTSD Symptom Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Personal Experience Screening Questionnaire, and Trauma History Interview. In addition, a data analytic approach was used to subdivide each adolescent’s trauma by type, number of victimizations, as well as the relationship to the perpetrator.
It is most important to understand that children and teens of all racial, religious, ethnic, gender and age groups, at all socio-economic levels are sexually abused. Although there are risk factors that may increase the possibility of sexual abuse, sex abuse can be found in all types of families, communities, and cultures (The Scope of, 2016). Childhood sexual abuse is an important issue to address because the impact of sexual does not end when the abuse ends. Childhood trauma follows into adulthood and can have long-range effects. “Survivors of sexual abuse are at significantly greater risks for severe and chronic mental health issues, including alcoholism, depression, anxiety, PTSD and high risk behaviors” (The Scope Of, 2016). Victims may experience traumatic sexualization, or the shaping of their sexuality in “developmentally inappropriate” and “interpersonally dysfunctional” ways (Effects of Child, 2012). “A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal” (Effects of Child, 2012). Overall, the effects and impact of childhood sexual abuse are long lasting and do not diminish when the abuse ends, their childhood trauma follows them into