Focus on Clinical Health Psychology: The Impact of Clergy Sexual Abuse on Religiosity: Implications for Long-Term Health

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penelope K. Trickett ◽  
Frank W. Putnam

In the last decade, it has become clear that the sexual abuse of children is much more prevalent than previously realized and that such abuse has extensive mental health sequelae. Females are reported victims of sexual abuse much more often than males. The peak age of onset of sexual abuse for females is prepubertal—7 or 8 years of age—and the average duration fends to be about 2 years. The basic theme of this article is that there may be directly traceable mechanistic relationships between the impact of sexual abuse on specific psychological and biological developmental processes for females and some of the adult outcomes of that abuse. Specifically, it is proposed that, to understand the long-term impact of sexual abuse, it is necessary to investigate how it may interfere with both the psychological and the biological processes of pubertal development.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie H. Wind ◽  
James M. Sullivan ◽  
Daniel J. Levins

1992 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Testa ◽  
Brenda A. Miller ◽  
William R. Downs ◽  
Denise Panek

The role of social support in moderating the impact of childhood sexual abuse on adult psychological adjustment was examined. Subjects included 475 women, age 18-45, some of whom were currently receiving treatment, others who were not. Women in the treatment group were receiving therapy for either alcoholism, for being battered, or for mental health problems. The comparison group was drawn from two sources: a random household sample and a sample of women attending drinking driver classes. Among both groups, women who had been sexually abused exhibited more psychological symptoms and lower self-esteem compared to those who were not abused. Latency of disclosure of childhood sexual abuse had no impact on long-term consequences of the abuse for either the treatment or the comparison group. However, among women in the comparison group, those who experienced supportive reactions following disclosure of sexual abuse had fewer psychological symptoms and somewhat higher self-esteem relative to those who did not receive support. Social support had no apparent effect on the long-term adjustment of women in the treatment group. Possible explanations for this pattern and directions for future research are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumiko Kamiya ◽  
Virpi Timonen ◽  
Rose Anne Kenny

ABSTRACTBackground:The aim of this study is to examine the long-term association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and mental and physical health, especially with conditions related to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction such as mood disorders, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, pain disorders, and measures of frailty and functional mobility. In addition, we examined the impact of CSA on self-reported health and healthcare utilization.Methods:Data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing were employed (N = 8,178). The effects of CSA on mental health, physical health, and healthcare utilization in old age population were estimated by ordinal least square, logistic regression, and Poisson regression, controlling for demographic factors, childhood adversities, and behavioral health.Results:Six percent of respondents reported CSA with little variation by gender. A significant association was found between CSA and mental health. Those who reported CSA were more likely to have depression, anxiety, worry, loneliness, and low quality of life. Poor self-reported health, lung disease, arthritis, peptic ulcer, chronic pain as well as high levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein were associated with CSA. Further, those who reported CSA were more likely to report doctor and hospital visits than those without a history of CSA.Conclusions:Findings from the present study show that CSA has significant long-term mental and physical consequences, whereby early life events are linked to later life health outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Lo Iacono ◽  
Cristina Trentini ◽  
Valeria Carola

A large body of research has documented the long-term harms of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on an individual’s emotional-adaptive function and mental health. Recent studies have also provided evidence of the biological impact of CSA, implicating specific alterations in many systems, including the endocrine and immune systems, and in DNA and chromatin, in the pathogenesis of medical disorders. Although the effects of CSA are often examined with regard to the general impact of early-life traumatic experiences, the study of CSA per sè, as a trigger of specific pathogenic pathways, would be more appropriate to understand their long-term implications and develop tailored diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Based on these premises, this narrative minireview summarizes the research on the short-term and long-term sequelae of CSA, focusing on dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the effects on the immune system, and the changes to DNA through altered methylation. Also, we discuss the literature that examines dysfunctional DNA telomere erosion and oxidative stress markers as a sign of CSA. Finally, recent evidence of the intergenerational transmission of the effects of CSA is reported. The impact of CSA on brain connectivity and functions is out of the scope of this review, thus brain imaging studies are not included. The results of this minireview are discussed, considering their implications for prevention and clinical practice.


Generasi Emas ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Alucyana Alucyana

Introduce early sex education is very important, so that children are able to fortify itself from sexual crimes. The impact of violence or sexual abuse on early childhood is very influential on their psychological development. Starting from the short-term impact of physical pain, guilt, fear, anxiety, shame, anger, and helplessness. Though the long term is a particular psychological symptom that the victim felt as a trauma that caused the victim to have no trust. Early childhood sex education is an attempt to provide information or knowledge to early childhood about identifying limbs, parts and limb functions, as well as the importance of maintaining limbs, as well as differences in men and women. One of the learning methods used in early childhood is learning while playing. Namely the method of pretend plays or play ostensibly. This game is very effective considering the early age has a vocabulary that is still limited and not able to think abstract to prevent the occurrence of sexual abuse in early childhood.


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