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Treatment of Childhood Sexual Abuse: An Updated Review

NCJ Number
240718
Journal
Current Psychiatry Reports Volume: 14 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2012 Pages: 599-607
Author(s)
Marissa Cummings; Steven J. Berkowitz; Philip V. Scribano
Date Published
December 2012
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article reviews current literature on the treatment of childhoold sexual abuse (CSA), including psychosocial interventions, pharmacotherapy, and early preventative interventions.
Abstract
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) involves multiple complex factors that make the evaluation of therapeutic interventions especially complicated. PTSD prevalence rates of CSA are approximately 37 percent -53 percent. Several other psychiatric sequelae of CSA exist. CSA appears to disrupt brain and body physiology. One co-located service delivery model reported a 52 percent linkage rate of CSA survivors with mental health treatment. This article reviews current literature on the treatment of CSA, including psychosocial interventions, pharmacotherapy, and early preventative interventions. It also provides an update on the short- and long-term sequelae of CSA and implications for future research directions. A literature search of papers published in the last 3 years was conducted using the keywords treatment, sexual abuse, childhood, epigenetics, resilience and review, and searching the following databases: PsycInfo, PubMed, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Centers for Disease Control. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.