The Long‐Term Clinical Correlates of Childhood Sexual Victimization

Despite the contention of some clinicians and researchers that sexual child abuse is not necessarily traumatic or harmful,’- ’ most recent studies indicate that sexual vic-timization during childhood produces both short- and long-term psychological effects. In their comprehensive review of over 35 studies, most of which were published or presented since 1980, Browne and Finkelhor conclude that “sexual abuse is a serious mental health problem, consistently associated with very disturbing subsequent prob-lems in some important portion of its victims. ” ’ Among other difficulties, it appears that women sexually abused as children are more likely than their nonabused peers to report depression, guilt, feelings of inferiority, and low self-e~teem? ~ interpersonal problems, delinquency, and substance a b ~ s e ~ ” ~ ” s~icidality,~*’~.’ ’ anxiety and chronic tenSion,5.6.12,14 sexual problem^,^^'^^^^^'^^ ^ and a tendency toward revictimization in adult-These findings appear to be relatively stable across a variety of groups (i.e., clinical, university student, and community samples), and may hold for both males and females.” Until very recently, in what may be referred to as the “first wave ” of sexual abuse