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What Is Child Sexual Abuse? |
Understanding
Child Sexual Abuse Education, Prevention, and Recovery
Can Children Recover from Sexual Abuse?
Children's interpretation of the abuse, whether or not they disclose the experience, and how
quickly they report it also affects the short- and long-term consequences. Children who are able
to confide in a trusted adult and who are believed experience less trauma than children who do
not disclose the abuse. Furthermore, children who disclose the abuse soon after its occurrence
may be less traumatized than those children who live with the secret for years.
Some researchers have begun to look at the question of whether someone can recover from sexual
abuse, and, if so, what factors help in that recovery. Children and adults who were sexually abused
as children have indicated that family support, extra-familial support, high self-esteem, and
spirituality were helpful in their recovery from the abuse.
It is important for victims of abuse to relinquish any guilt they may feel about the abuse. Victims
also report that attending workshops and conferences on child sexual abuse, reading about child
sexual abuse, and undergoing psychotherapy have helped them feel better and return to a more normal
life. Research has also shown that often the passage of time is a key element in recovery.
Counseling and other support services are also important for the caregivers of abused children.
One of the strongest predictors of the child's recovery from the abuse experience is a high level
of maternal and family functioning. (This, of course, assumes that the abuser was not a member
of the immediate family or, if so, is not still living within the family.)
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| © PsycNET 2001 American Psychological Association |
In an attempt to better understand the ill effects of child abuse, psychologists
and other researchers have studied what factors may lessen the impact of the abuse. More research
needs to be done, but, to date, factors that seem to affect the amount of harm done to the victim
include the age of the child; the duration, frequency, and intrusiveness of the abuse; the degree
of force used; and the relationship of the abuser to the child.
