Sexual behavior problems and psychopathology symptoms in sexually abused girls.

OBJECTIVE: This study contrasted a group of sexually abused girls, aged 6 to 12 years, with two demographically comparable control groups, girls from a child psychiatry outpatient department, and girls from a general pediatric clinic to determine whether differences in sexual behavior and psychopathology symptoms could be demonstrated. METHOD: All girls and their mothers underwent an evaluation protocol composed of two parent-report inventories, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory. RESULTS: Sexually abused girls and psychiatric controls manifested more psychopathology symptoms, including internalizing and externalizing behaviors, than the nonpsychiatric controls. Relative to both control groups, sexually abused girls manifested more sexual behavior problems: masturbating openly and excessively, exposing their genitals, indiscriminately hugging and kissing strange adults and children, and attempting to insert objects into their genitals. Abuse by fathers or stepfathers involving intercourse was associated with particularly marked sexual behavior disturbances. There was a subgroup of sexually abused girls who tended to force sexual activities on siblings and peers. All of these girls had experienced prolonged sexual abuse (more than 2 years) involving physical force which was perpetrated by a parent. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that sexual abuse in preadolescent girls is associated with sexual behavior problems.

Cross-gender behavior and gender conflict in sexually abused girls.

OBJECTIVE: This study contrasted a group of sexually abused girls, aged 6 to 12 years, with two demographically comparable control groups, girls from a child psychiatry outpatient clinic, and girls from a general pediatric clinic, to determine whether differences in gender role behavior and identity could be demonstrated. METHOD: All girls underwent an evaluation protocol that included a semistructured interview for children, the Gender Role Assessment Schedule--Child (GRAS-C). The mothers were administered several questionnaires including two parent-report measures of gender-related behavior in their children, the Child Game Participation Questionnaire (CGPQ) and the Child Behavior and Attitude Questionnaire--Female version (CBAQ-F). RESULTS: Sexually abused girls manifested significantly more cross-gender behavior on the GRAS-C (in the areas of gender role preference and aggression) and gender identity conflict than did nonabused girls in both comparison groups. For the sexually abused and psychiatric control groups, their parents reported greater involvement in traditionally masculine games on the CGPQ, but on the CBAQ-F, no significant group differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that sexual abuse in preadolescent girls is associated with cross-gender behavior and gender conflict.

Retrospective treatment of incest victims: suggested analytic attitudes.

This paper includes a brief consideration of literature relevant to childhood sexual abuse detection and prevalence. That literature indicates that such detection may be difficult and that the occurrence of childhood sexual abuse is widespread. These findings, as well as a consideration of literature relevant to trauma, stress, and the identification of survivors of sexual abuse, suggest an analytic attitude of receptivity to the hypothesis of the event of sexual abuse as well as the fantasy of sexual abuse. A second analytic attitude suggested concerns diagnosis. Childhood trauma is implicated in the development of BPD, as the majority of borderline patients have experienced the trauma of child abuse. Further, trauma can lead to dissociation as a defense against stress, and multiple personality disorder is an extreme example of dissociation. The analytic attitude suggested here is that the diagnosis of BPD or MPD may be a necessary but not a sufficient explanation when the symptomatology is a defensive reaction to the traumatic event of childhood sexual abuse. Lastly, it is suggested that the abuse may need to be central to the treatment in analytic work with sexually abused victims. This is suggested in light of the importance of recovery and integration of traumatic memories with their associated affects.

Onset of parenting and stressful events.

The purpose of this study was to develop a list of stressful events associated with onset of parenting, and to rank the events and establish weights in a way that reflects the degree of disruption that would be caused should that event occur. Whether the rankings and weightings differ as a function of parent sex and maternal work status was also considered. The procedures for developing the list and the rankings and weightings are presented. Results indicate high internal consistency in weightings (.81 to .92) and significant differences in ranking between the four groups of parents (nonworking mothers, working mothers, fathers with nonworking wives, fathers with working wives) on two of the 21 events. Implications for parent education programs and research are discussed.