Mental Health Matters

A good friend of mine is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association of the Abilene area. Back in November he asked me to consider writing a series of articles (one a month) for a local publication to inform the public on the possible effects sexual abuse can have on it's victims. Having worked for three years at the Regional Crime Victim Crisis Center, this subject is close to my heart. I thought I would begin posting these articles on this blog. This is my first article which was actually published in December.

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It seems the sexual abuse of children is an epidemic in our society. This evil respects no boundary of gender, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. The Mental Health Association of Abilene recognizes that thousands of people in the Big Country have been impacted by this epidemic. Therefore, Executive Director, Kirk Hancock commissioned the penning of six articles over the course of six months for the purpose of educating the general public regarding the potential developmental impacts of sexual abuse on its’ victims.

When approaching the discussion of this subject, it is important to note that there are no standard or predictable outcomes and some seem to adjust better post-abuse than others. For the next five months, Mental Health Matters will have one article highlighting how specific dimensions of a person can be impacted by sexual abuse. These articles will take a “shot gun” approach to describing potential impacts. It should be noted that not all survivors of sexual abuse will experience all the effects discussed and the intensity with which others endure their respective impacts will differ. Therefore, it stands to reason that we first answer the question of what factors influence the intensity of the adverse developmental impacts on a child who has been sexually abused.

The duration and frequency of the abuse is one important component to consider. Some children experience the abuse on a daily, weekly, or monthly frequency for a duration of months or years. Others have endured less chronic or isolated instances of abuse. It is this latter group with the least amount of susceptibility to adverse consequences down the road.

Another consideration is the kind of abuse perpetrated. Those survivors with the most intense developmental impacts are those who sustained penetration orally, anally, or vaginally. The invasive nature of these acts adds to the already deep sense of violation both physically and psychologically. Sexual abuse can include less invasive, yet still horrific, forms such as manual stimulation and groping over the clothes.

The response of adults to the child's disclosure of the abuse is another vital piece to understanding the resilience of some abused children. Common mistakes parents and other significant adults make when a child musters the courage of disclosing the abuse are not believing the child, blaming the child, or defining the child by the abuse. The lack of support, blame and even punishment of the child can have just as devastating impacts as the actual abuse.

Other factors include the age and temperament of the child, the presence of violence or intimidation along with the sexual abuse, and the relationship of the abuser to the abused.

While there is nothing positive about an abusive situation, there can be a "best case" scenario. Bear in mind, even those who come from a "worst case" scenario who access quality professional help and have a solid social support system can not only survive, but thrive.