Children's emotional and behavioral reactions following the disclosure of extrafamilial sexual abuse: initial effects.

Despite a dramatic increase of the empirical literature on child sexual abuse, very few investigations have examined the initial effects of extrafamilial sexual abuse (ESA). The present study evaluated the emotional and behavioral adjustment of 41 children (mean age 10 years, range 5.4 to 15.5 years) within the first 3 months following the disclosure of ESA. Children's functioning was compared to that of a nonclinical comparison group of 43 children, matched on child's age, gender, and family constellation. Child functioning was assessed using a combination of child-report, primary caregiver-report (i.e., parent), and teacher-report measures. Results revealed that sexually abused children, in comparison to nonabused children, suffered deleterious and clinically significant effects. Standard multiple regressions found that the children's perceptions of self-blame and guilt for the abuse and the extent of traumatization predicted their self-reported symptomatology of depression, social efficacy, and general and abuse-related fears. As well, child's gender predicted the level of general fearfulness. None of the other demographic or abuse-related variables were related to children's functioning. These results underscore the need for multidimensional and multisource assessment of children who experience ESA, and point to the clinical importance of addressing the abuse-related attributions of these children.

Children of divorce: predictors of change following preventive intervention.

Fifty-three fourth- and fifth grade children were tested on postdivorce adjustment immediately before and six months after participation in an eight-week preventive intervention program. At follow-up, most showed positive change, with those at special risk for adjustment problems showing substantial gains. Results did not vary with sociodemographic or divorce circumstances.

Psychological functioning and behavior of sexually abused girls.

The psychological functioning and behavior of 46 sexually abused girls (ages 6-14) was compared with that of 46 nonabused girls who were matched on age, race, family income, and family constellation. Sexually abused children demonstrated heightened sexual preoccupation and behavior problems, lower cognitive abilities and school achievement, and more stressful past histories.

Multiple personality disorder in childhood.

Multiple Personality Disorder (M.P.D.) has been diagnosed in adults and adolescents at an almost exponential rate over the last 10 years in contrast to the previous 100 years. Childhood M.P.D., a more recently recognized entity, has been identified both by retrospective patient reports and actual child case reports, of which we were able to note 12 in total, 4 of which may be more accurately described as "incipient M.P.D." Given the apparently rapid response to treatment compared to adults and the high morbidity caused by the adult form of the disorder, the authors recommend a "high index of suspicion" and the use of screening questionnaires to detect cases of M.P.D. in high risk populations of children. Although the natural history of M.P.D. is not known, early identification and treatment could lower the number of cases of childhood M.P.D. that become established as adult cases and decrease the associated morbidity of the disorder in both children and adults. More research is needed to establish prevalence, etiology and effective treatment methods.

The single parent family and the child's mental health.

The prevalence of psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders in a 1 year birth cohort from northern Finland followed up until 19 years was examined on the basis of hospital records and national registers for subsidies for chronically sick children. Psychiatric disorders were found to occur with higher frequency in children of single parent families, especially those lacking a father during the child's whole life. Childhood enuresis was most frequent in the children who had experienced the divorce of their parents. Discriminant function analysis was used to establish the explanatory value of the family constellation for both psychiatric disorders and enuresis. The other significant explanatory variables for psychiatric disorders were school performance, place of residence and the child's height at 1 year of age, with poor school performance, high population density and short stature increasing the risk. The other significant variables increasing the risk of enuresis were psychiatric disorders, poor school performance, juvenile smoking and small size of dwelling. Disabled children had psychiatric disorders 9 times as frequently as non-disabled ones.