Does child sexual abuse have harmful effects?
Fact: Yes. Child sexual abuse has profound immediate and long-term negative effects. Child sexual abuse victims are likely to exhibit any number of the following problems: • Psychological problems such as low self esteem, fearfulness related to abuse stimuli, generalized fear, emotional upset, panic/anxiety attacks, anxious arousal, nightmares/sleep disorders repressed anger/hostility/irritability, depression, suicidal thoughts/statements, daydreaming, intrusive experiences, dissociation, loss of memory, inability to concentrate, academic problems, irritability, body image problems, psychosomatic complaints, post-traumatic stress; and • Behavioral problems such as withdrawal from activities, disorganized or agitated behavior overly compliant/anxious to please, behavior regression (loss of bowel and bladder control, return to thumb sucking), aggressive behavior (acting out), defensive avoidance, tension reduction behavior, sleepwalking, enuresis (bed wetting), encopresis (fecal soiling)
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