Common Causes of Trauma in Children:
Physical or Sexual Abuse

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of children are physically abused each year by a parent or close relative.” Often the emotional trauma remains long after the physical bruises are gone. Children who complain of abuse should be taken seriously. They may display one or more of the following symptoms:

• A poor self image
• Sexual acting out
• Inability to trust or love others
• Aggressive, disruptive and sometimes illegal behavior
• Anger and rage
• Self-destructive or self-abusive behavior; suicidal thoughts
• Passive, withdrawn or clingy behavior
• Fear of entering into new relationships or activities
• Anxiety and fears
• School problems or failure
• Feelings of sadness or other symptoms of depression
• Flashbacks and/or nightmares
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Sleep problems

Sometimes symptoms of child abuse do not manifest until the adolescent years. Without proper treatment, physically abused children may feel the effects of the abuse throughout their entire life. Physical abuse is not the only type of abuse. Neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or any combination thereof can also be devastating to the healthy growth of a child.

About 80,000 cases of child sexual abuse are reported each year, but in reality, the number is far greater as much abuse goes unreported. “Sexual abuse includes fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism and commercial exploitation through prostitution or production of pornographic material,” according to FOCUS Adolescent Services.

Sexual abuse can occur within the family or outside of the home. When abuse occurs within the family, children may feel anger over what is happening and experience confusion over feelings such as love, jealousy or shame. Sexually abused children may exhibit the following behaviors:

• Unusual interest in or avoidance of things of a sexual nature
• Sleep problems or nightmares
• Depression or withdrawal
• Seductiveness
• Eating disorders
• Self-injury
• Refusal to go to school
• Delinquency
• Conduct problems
• Secretiveness
• Running away
• Unusual aggressiveness
• Suicide
  

Nancy Faulkner, Ph.D., a child advocate and health care consultant, has a Web site with detailed statistics on child sexual abuse (www.prevent-abuse-now.com/stats.htm#Impact). Some of statistics are listed below:

• It is estimated that 60 million survivors of child abuse are in America today
• About 31 percent of women in prison state that they had been abused a child
• About 95 percent of teenage prostitutes have been sexually abused
• Children with disabilities are four to 10 times more vulnerable to sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers
• Early identification of victims is crucial to the reduction of suffering
• Adolescents with a history of sexual abuse are more likely to be at risk for HIV because of the behaviors they may engage in.
• Young girls who have experienced sexual abuse are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders or abuse alcohol and drugs in adulthood than girls who were not sexually abused
• Among both boys and girls, adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse are more likely to have eating disorders