Risk and Resilience Among Children Who Have Been Sexually Abused - Thesis Example

Aside from PTSD, sexually abused children may also suffer from a variety of traumatic stressors including intrusive memories, witnessing the repetitive reenactment of the trauma during hyperarousal, and frightening nightmares. The severity of the nature of the symptoms that ensue from child sexual abuse and the need to stop them are two reasons why there is a consequent need to prevent these symptoms from developing in the victim himself.Child sexual abuse is more prevalent than it seems. In fact, according to data from the fact sheet of the National Center for Victims of Crime: Child Sexual Abuse, there an actual number of child abuse cases in the United States is definitely more than the 90,000 cases reported annually.

Moreover, it is estimated that 25% of girls and 16% of boys experience sexual abuse of varying degrees before they turn 18, especially between 7 and13, where they are most vulnerable. Moreover, the findings of the said agency point out that “most child victims are abused by someone they know and trust,” which makes up around 96% of all documented cases (Lowen, 2011). Among the factors that increase risk in the incidence of sexual abuse include parent-child conflict, parental inadequacy, parental unavailability, and the poor parent-child relationship.

Moreover, the act of the abuse almost always involves coercion and violence, resulting in 20% of all victims developing long-term mental problems and other disturbing psychological symptoms. These problems may include chronic depression, sexual dysfunction, low self-esteem, and multiple personality disorders (Lowen, 2011). In order to counter these psychological disorders, the victim needs to develop resilience through therapy.As defined by Fergus and Zimmerman (2005), the term “resilience” refers to “the process of overcoming the negative effects of risk exposure, coping successfully with traumatic experiences, and avoiding the negative trajectories associated with risks.”