[Mental disorders in children after the sexual abuse]

Consequences of intrafamily noncontact abuse (40 children aged from 3 to 13 years) and out-of-family contact abuse (15 children aged from 7 to 15 years) have been studied. The intrafamily abuse was long-term and demanded from a child the immersion into situation of "secrecy". The out-of-family abuse had a character of the extreme influence upon a victim. Independently of the abuse character, border-line mental disorders were found in all children. A character of these disorders was determined by the specifics of psychogenic factor, its duration and child's age. A decreased mood, different levels of autism and disturbances of cognitive function were common features of border-line disorders. In cases of intrafamily abuse, uncontrolled drives, sexual character of games and fantasies, elements of depersonalization and age-specific transformation of affective disorders from depressiveness to dysphoric aggressive reactions were observed. In the out-of-family contact abuse, especially in teenagers, the main appearances approached to posttraumatic stress syndrome. In all cases, there was a trend to stronger differentiation of affective disorders, intensification of drives and formation of characteristic pathologic changes as children get older.