NCJ Number
137061
Date Published
1992
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews the literature on the emotional and behavioral effects of sexual abuse on children and adolescents in relation to a recently proposed psychiatric diagnostic category: "Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified" (van der Kolk, Pelcovitz, Herman, et al., 1991).
Abstract
Relevant works are divided into three categories -- controlled studies; uncontrolled studies and case reports; and consensus, guidelines, reviews, and surveys -- and compared to a 1984 review of the short-term symptoms of child sexual abuse completed by Gomes-Schwartz, Horowitz, and Sauzier (1984). This comparison is a reliability check for the current review, as it involves independent determinations of whether or not particular symptoms are reported in the individual references. The current analysis and the 1984 review share five references in common: Adams-Tucker, 1982; Bender and Blau, 1937; Browning and Boatman, 1977; Lewis and Sorrel, 1969; and Peters, 1976. Gomes-Schwartz and her associates examined another 28 clinically based works. The current review includes 22 such references under the category of "uncontrolled studies and case reports"; however, priority for inclusion in this critique was given to those studies that used comparison groups or standardized assessment instruments. This review indicates that sexually abused children and adolescents typically have symptom clusters, some of which distinguish sexually abused from physically abused children as well as from nonabused children. There is a significant and rapidly growing body of research that substantiates many earlier clinical reports and impressions. These findings fit many of the proposed criteria for the Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified. A number of refinements and possible additions are suggested. 7 tables and 68 references