The prevalence of children with a history of sexual abuse hospitalized in the psychiatric setting.

This descriptive study systematically sampled 100 closed records of children hospitalized at a children's psychiatric hospital in a midwest city over the past 5 years to determine the prevalence of children identified as having a history of sexual abuse. The symptoms of abuse manifested by these children were compared with the prevalence of children without an identified history of sexual abuse who also had symptoms of sexual abuse. The results address the extent to which symptoms of sexual abuse in a child psychiatric setting are not identified, nor included in treatment plans and suggest that treatment for this problem is an essential component in the care of any child identified as having this history.