Urquiza, Anthony J.

The sexually abused child has been described as more fearful, anxious, depressed, and guilty in comparison to normal children. However, these descriptions are largely derived from clinical impressions and little systematic exploration of the nature and extent of behavior problems among these children. The present study investigated the problem behaviors of a group of preschool and elementary-aged sexually abused children (N = 93) in comparison with a sample of nonabused children from a psychiatric outpatient clinic (N = 64) and a sample of nonabused children from a well child clinic (N = 78). Behavioral strengths and weaknesses in these children were examined by administering the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist to their mothers. Sexually abused children displayed a significantly greater number of behavior problems than normals but were not as significantly disturbed as the psychiatric outpatients. The sexually abused children did display significantly more sexual problems than either comparison group. Caseworkersl therapists for the sexually abused child provided ratings of family conflict, cohesion, and support of the child. These were significantly related to the extent of behavior problems in the sexually abused children. This relationship equaled or exceeded the relationship of severity of sexual abuse to behavior problems.

We report a brief treatment format for young sexually abused boys that has both diagnostic and therapeutic implications. A general format is outlined, and then a group is described in more detail. Examples from each session are given that illustrate both therapeutic issues and issues related to the effects of sexual abuse on this sample. Implications for longer, more intensive treatment are given.

A sample of 31 boys sexually assaulted in the previous 18 months was compared on the Child Behavior Checklist with 33 boys who had a diagnosis of oppositional or conduct disorder. The boys ranged in age from 3 to 8 years old. The conduct-disordered boys were being seen in outpatient therapy with their parents. The two groups did differ significantly, with the sexually abused group being less externalizing and more sexualized than the conduct disorder group.