Efficacy of treatment for victims of child sexual abuse

It is common practice to recommend psychotherapy for children who have experienced sexual abuse. However, there is no agreed-upon means by which to assess the needs of these children or to determine the nature of the treatments to be offered. Most existing research bearing on these issues consists of descriptive data, pre- and postanalysis, and correlation studies of mixed and nonstandardized treatments. This research suggests that the rate of spontaneous recovery following disclosure of sexual abuse is high, but that both a need and a benefit exist for the provision of support during the acute adjustment period for those children who are most at risk for long-term negative effects. The authors contend that the event of sexual abuse does not, in and of itself, create a need for treatment in all child victims. They recommend comprehensive assessments to determine which children are at risk for subsequent problems, the extrapolation of findings from other research domains to individualize treatment, and the use of empirically validated interventions.