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Consequences of childhood sexual abuse exhibited in adulthood

• Some people who were sexually abused during childhood have few sequelae once they reach adulthood. However, many studies have shown that childhood sexual abuse can have a wide range of consequences that carry into adulthood and across multiple spheres of functioning.

• Not only can childhood sexual abuse have lasting effects throughout adulthood, but the effects can take new forms in the majority, affecting marital and parental life as well.

 

POSSIBLE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE EXHIBITED IN ADULTHOOD

SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

• Somatic problems

• Risky lifestyles (e.g. smoking, alcohol, and drug use)

• Poorer physical health

• Poorer perception of physical health

• More frequent visits to the physician

• Occupational disability

• Chronic diseases

• Chronic pain

• High-risk sexual behavior (unprotected sex, multiple partners, etc.)

• Gynecological and perinatal complications

• Sexual problems (e.g. painful intercourse, vaginismus in women)

• Greater risk of contracting HIV and STBBIs

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PSYCHOLOGICAL

• Mental health problems (depression, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, panic disorder, etc.)

• Psychological distress

• Dissociation

• Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder

• Anxiety

• Self-mutilation

• Suicidal thoughts attempted or completed suicide

• Drug and alcohol abuse

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RELATIONAL AND MARITAL

• Less trust in others

• Commitment issues

• More excellent family and personal conflict

• Isolation

• Fear of intimacy

• Marital dissatisfaction

• Less stable relationships with partners

• Marital conflict

• Spousal violence

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PARENTAL

• Permissive parenting practices

• Parenting stress

• Parentification of children

• Troubled parent-child relationships

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PERINATAL PERIOD

• Early motherhood

• Renewed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (during pregnancy, delivery, nursing)

• Premature births

• Post-partum depression

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