A clinical-demographic study of sexually abused children

Forty-five children who had been sexually abused were psychologically evaluated. Parents or guardians of the children completed symptom checklists. Results indicated that the majority of children (71%) were abused 4 or fewer times. In addition, genital manipulation and/or fondling was the most common form of abuse. In 82% of the cases, there were no marital separations or family breakups of any kind within six months before or six months after the abuse. Many children (69%) displayed psychological symptoms. The most frequent were nightmares, bedwetting, clinging behavior, inappropriate sexual behavior, anxiety and sadness. Results of this study are largely inconsistent with popular notions about the nature of child sexual abuse. The major methodological shortcoming of the investigation was the lack of a systematic control group.