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In Reply to: Waking up your conscience posted by Oldtimer on December 19, 2003 at 09:58:34:
Many people who experience sexual exploitation as children also experience negative psychological consequences as adults. One major research study has shown that sexually abused children are much more likely to drop out of school than their non-abused counterparts.
Please note: This DOES NOT mean everyone who experiences abuse as a child WILL experience psychological and psychiatric problems as adults. Nor does it mean every child who experiences sexual abuse WILL fail to complete school or have trouble with completing an education.
The major psychological & psychiatric problems seen in adults sexually abused as children are: anxiety disorders (post-traumatic stress disorder), substance abuse and addiction, mood disorders (dysthymia and depression), personality disorders (borderline, narcissism & histrionic), and dissociative identity disorder.
Much depends on the exact nature of the abuse, frequency & severity, secrecy, level of coersion, use of threats & violence, etc. Obviously, fondling a child once or twice will not have the same impact as repeatedly raping that child over a long period of time and threatening to take him/her away from their parents if s/he speaks up.
Also, much depends on the resilience of the the victim. Some victims claim very little damage was done, while others become serious basket cases. Faith Berg is a good example of a basket case.
Finally, a lot depends on how the disclosure of abuse is handled. For example, denying that it ever happened or claiming that the victim is lying or that s/he is making a big deal over nothing sets up a much different environment for healing and recovery than openly admitting to wrong doing and/or apologizing and asking for forgiveness.
