There are no markers to help us identify when sexual abuse is more likely to occur. However, some studies show that the most important indicator of risk for sexual abuse is the compromised ability of a parent to provide adequate supervision to their child, e.g. marital conflicts, unavailability, substance abuse. The effects of sexual abuse on children can be devastating and long-term, especially when timely and effective treatment is not available. While clinical descriptions of child abuse and neglect suggest psychological harm from other forms of maltreatment, practitioners and researchers still struggle to clearly define the nature and consequences of emotional abuse. Consequences for child victims are devastating.
Infants can show non-organic failure to thrive, anxiety, and inadequate social responses.
Older children can show signs of feeling unloved, inferior, and negative in their view of the world and themselves. They may show symptoms of fear, anxiety, and aggression. Internalized, these feelings may provoke self-destructive, depressed, withdrawn or even suicidal behavior. Externalized, they can lead to aggressive, impulsive, and violent behaviors.