Child Sexual Abuse Literature Review

Review of the Literature

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of child sexual abuse on the adult survivor. A thorough exploration of the literature will provide insight as to the prevalence of child sexual abuse, coping skills survivors use and the long term effects that many survivors face.

Sexual Child Abuse

Some forms of sexual abuse involves physical contact. These include fondling, intercourse, masturbation, anal sex, and oral or vaginal penetration with objects. Other types of sexual abuse, such as leering, exhibitionism, and sexual suggestiveness, do not involve physical contact of any kind.

People who sexually abuse children do so in order to meet their own needs. Abusers usually does not have the child’s best

Ultimately, often in the fourth or fifth decade of life, the self-protective structure may begin to break down. Often the precipitant is a change in the equilibrium of close relationships: the illness or death of a parent or the failure of a marriage. The facade can hold no longer, and the underlying fragmentation becomes manifest. When and if a breakdown occurs, it can take symptomatic forms that mimic virtually every form of psychiatric disorder. Survivors feels a sense of terror that they are going insane or will have to die (1992 p.

Healing their inner child can be very intense work, and it is recommended that they have a strong support system and be in a good place in their healing before starting Some of the things that they may experience include; depression, anxiety, eating problems, relationship problems, self-blame and denial. Depression has been found to be the utmost common long-term symptom among survivors of sexual abuse. Survivors may have difficulty in externalizing the abuse, thus thinking harmfully and negatively about themselves and