Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome - Term Paper Example

In simple terms, this means that it cannot officially be diagnosed via scientific methods and thus as a result it has been the subject of much controversy between the supporters of its existence and the opposing side that demand proof of its presence (Hornor, 2010). The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome can be described as the way in which a child who is undergoing sexual abuse responds to the situation (Walsh & DiLillo, 2011). This includes their behavior and reaction to facing such a travesty and is considered to behind the manner in which an abused child will act in various scenarios (Kogan, 2005).

The Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome attempts to understand the thinking of a child who may be suffer through such abuse in a means to understand why they behave in the manner that they do, and it has been included in a number of court cases as a means of presenting proof that a child was abused (Kogan, 2005). Summit claimed that this syndrome consists of five stages that a child who is being abused goes through and they include: Secrecy – This is the tendency for the child to keep what they are going through to themselves and avoid telling others especially authority figures.

This can be said to as a result of a number of emotions that the child may be experiencing at that point in time that prevents them from working up the nerve to tell somebody about what is happening to them (Crosson-Tower, 2008). These emotions can include feelings like shame and embarrassment of what is going on and in many cases fear as well as the perpetrator is more likely to threaten them about disclosing what is happening to them. Helplessness – This is the second stage of CSAAS and it is where the abused child feels powerless to stop what is happening to them (Hornor, 2010).

In many cases, the individual who is abusing the child is usually in a position of power, either authoritative or physical in nature which makes the child feel like they cannot do anything to stop what is happening to them. As a result, the feeling of helplessness over the situation creeps up inside the victim (Crosson-Tower, 2008). Entrapment and accommodation – In this stage the abused child will more than likely try to deal with the situation in the best way possible and that is via accommodation of their suffering (Hornor, 2010).

This may be in the form of the child making excuses for what is happening to them such as that it as a result of the fact that they have done something bad and are being punished for it (Crosson-Tower, 2008). This occurs as a result of the growth of a feeling of entrapment that rises as a bye product of the helplessness that they feel in the second stage (Walsh & DiLillo, 2011). It can be said that this is a consequence of the development of an emotional coping mechanism that helps them get through the ordeal.

Delayed Disclosure – In this stage the child finally works up the courage to tell somebody what is happening to them, but this occurs after they have gone through the ordeal for a period of time (Crosson-Tower, 2008). The reason for delayed disclosure can be said to be as a result of the fact that it takes some time before a child is able to work up the nerve to tell someone about what is going as a result of the feeling of helplessness that occurs in the second stage (Hornor, 2010). It usually occurs after the child can no longer take what is going on