If the abuse came from a caretaker, they may repeat that abuse through inappropriate adult relationships that attempt to change the original abusive outcome to achieve feelings of worth and love. He sees abused children chronically acting out or self-sabotaging. If their abuse was sexual, the acting out may be sexual. One out of four women and one out of seven men were sexually abused before age 18. While 95 percent of these abusers are male, boys are as likely to be abused by a father or older brother as girls are.
Sexual abuse is about domination, control and humiliating the victim.
In addition to the most obvious kinds of self mutilation, such as cutting, he said some extreme forms of tattooing, body piercing or branding also might be signs of self mutilation in some cases. As a first strategy, he advised talking to the child to determine his attitude toward his new permanent decorations. In children and adolescents, self mutilation is an attempt to call attention to themselves or their family situation. Shannon recommended psychodiagnostic and neurological testing of a self-mutilating child as well as behavior modification therapy and medication. Treating the abusive parent In his experience, treating the abusive parents sometimes treats the entire family.